Mel shrugged. ‘It was tradition, probably, to start. All these things start with traditions, don’t they? And then you have this society, built up, so reliant on the resources farmed and mined for them by their youth… why would they ever want to change this setup? So they control them. They keep the fear of death hanging over the youths’ heads. The Iyr act as though they’re doing some great favour when they take a maturing Arellian away - but all they’re really doing is adding to their own population.’
I found my mouth hanging agape. ‘But that’s… that’s…’
Mel nodded. ‘Maybe now you understand what the Iyr would do to keep this a secret, then. How far they would go. What they would do to anyone who sticks their nose in.’
‘But- Te’rnu. He’s out there… If he gets found out…’
She nodded again. ‘They’ll kill him.’
15
A Sheep In Wolf’s Clothing
Six of the Iyr guards came into the room, all armed with those horrible phasers. I was beginning to see why Syl did not like them.
The guards, upon seeing Syl, aimed the rifles at her, completely ignoring me.
‘Alright, don’t shoot, I surrender!’ she cried out. ‘We don’t want an intergalactic incident on our hands, do we?’
At this point, I remembered that I was in disguise. Disguises were good, I had decided. I would have to do disguises more often.
When the Iyr did finally see me, they stood up straight, put their hands to their faces, and shouted, in unison, ‘Sir!’
I knew from earlier that this was a sign of respect, that they thought themselves somehow inferior to me (or, at least, to the Iyr that I was disguised as).
Oh! No need for the instant kill, then.
Part of me was disappointed; I wanted to see what it did. The other (much larger) part of me knew that I didn’t want to have to live with killing anyone - even an Iyr. I pulled my hand away from the buttons on the suit’s visor.
I stood up straight, hoping that this was how the Iyr - the so-called “Head of Guard” - would have acted.
‘Thank you, soldiers, for the reinforcement,’ I told the Iyr, putting on my deepest voice - a mark of authority, I reckoned. And then, realising that I would need to explain this situation in order to keep my cover intact, added, ‘I was just in the process of arresting this… intruder.’
The Iyr nodded and remained silent.
Great! I am a convincing Head of Guard! I would never have thought it.
‘She…,’ I started, pointing at Syl, and then realised that the Iyr did not use that word. ‘They already knocked out one of the guards.’
I pointed at two of the Iyr.
‘You! Take this one to the medical bay.’
That got rid of two of them. Maybe I should have ordered more away.
‘Yes, sir!’ the Iyr replied, and picked up the guard I had assaulted by their limbs.
‘That looks comfy,’ Syl muttered. I tried to shoot her a disapproving look, but it was hard to get the meaning across from under this helmet.
The four remaining Iyr, angered by Syl’s characteristically irritating throwaway comments, aimed their rifles at her once again.
I watched in horror, frozen, as one of the guard moved their hand to the buttons in their visor.
Please not Instant Kill!
‘Wait,’ Syl began, ‘What are you-’
When the button was pressed, a huge wave of light came forth from the helmet and shot into Syl, who screamed and collapsed to the floor.
Oops. Perhaps I should have acted sooner there. You need to be better at this, Te’rnu. Oh well. She is still alive. That is what counts!
‘…not much fun,’ Syl muttered to herself.
The guards picked her up and threw her into the cell, closing the door behind her. I just had a chance to glimpse another occupant, looking tired, dirty, and sad, sat in the corner of that room.
This must be who Syl was looking for.
‘Sir, what should we do with the prisoner?’ an Iyr asked me.
Think, Te’rnu, think!
‘I… I will deal with them later.’
I was going to come back for her later, then. Perhaps in the meanwhile, I could use this disguise to gain access to the central terminal.
But without Syl’s technological knowledge…
‘Of course - your meeting,’ a guard interrupted my train of thought. They looked at a display of some kind on their right arm. ‘It started a few moments ago, but I am sure they will understand your delay… given the circumstances.’
Meeting? What sort of meeting? A food-related meeting, I hope.
‘I… err…,’ I started - and then forced my mouth closed until I could formulate my response properly. ‘Yes!’
I pointed to one of the Iyr.
‘You. Keep guard here. You three: please escort me to the meeting.’
That should make it easier to break Syl out upon my return.
One of the Iyr turned to me, grabbed me gently by the upper arm. I hoped my biology was not so different from the Iyr that they would notice the difference through the suit.
‘I do not mean to question your orders, sir, but should we not keep more than one guard on this post, given the security breach?’
I shook my head. ‘It is all resolved, is it not? The damage has been contained.’
There was a short pause.
Had my disguise been seen through?
The Iyr nodded. ‘Of course, sir.’
…Apparently not.
One of the other guards opened the door and gestured for me to follow. When it shut once again behind me, it dawned on me that I was alone. I did not have Syl to back me up. I was alone; a Truvet amongst the Hillbeasts, prey in the land of predators.
My newly-formed troupe of guardsman escorted me through the building, along the winding corridors and into the still mind-blowing transmats. In silence, we walked - until, finally, we arrived at a large room.
This atrium was host to a large, long table, at which a number of Iyr sat, each with their suits decorated in their own unique way. If my suit belonged to an
