“Oh, thanks. Will do,” I said, as she departed. The door was automatic and opened as she approached. When it u I let out a big exhale. I couldn’t even begin to comprehend what was going on. I shook my head and decided to pretend everything was fine. With a deep calming breath, I pushed all the thoughts and confusion deep down into the recesses of my mind. It’s where I hid everything I didn’t want to think about. Healthy, I know.
I eased myself off the bed, feeling a little unsteady. But surprisingly, by the time I made it to the locker my legs felt strong.
Inside I found a jumpsuit identical to Ember’s, though bigger obviously. With it stood a pair of boots and some underwear. I whipped the hospital gown off and quickly replaced it with the pants, catching my reflection as I did so in the locker door mirror. A strange sensation hit home. I wasn’t fat anymore, nor was there any saggy skin to my huge relief. But, looking over my new body disappointed me. Ungrateful, right? I’d become accustomed to the physique I’d built in Anatoli, not this pale skinny form.
I was possibly thinner than the time I spent lost in that forest, shitting myself to near death. I gave my head a wobble. Come on Shaun, this is still a hundred percent better than before Anatolia, I told myself. I’d bulk up a bit when we weren’t being chased by whoever.
Next, I noticed my hair was cut short, in near enough the same style as when I’d entered the chamber. Strange. Did they cut my hair while I was in there, or had they stopped it from growing altogether? I decided I didn’t care. I had more pressing issues to deal with, such as being on a fucking spaceship!
I finished getting dressed in a hurry, surprised at how well everything fit. At first, I had toyed with the idea of having a shower, but I seemed spotless and odor-free somehow.
I left the room through the same door as Ember. She was leaning against the corridor wall waiting for me.
“You scrub up nice.”
“As do you, Ember.” I walked over and gave her a hug. Relieved when she hugged me back. When we parted it was only slightly awkward.
“Right, then. Let’s go see Ogun,” she said, heading off down the futuristic corridor. I followed right behind her marveling at every detail as we went.
At the far end of the corridor we reached some cool double doors that opened quickly and silently. On the other side was an awe-inspiring room filled with terminals and screens. Several people worked at the terminals, all dressed in the same outfits that we wore. One thing I had noticed about everyone, was that they all looked in wicked shape with not an inch of excess weight anywhere to be seen. I suppose that would make sense if they’d all been through Anatoli.
One gigantic screen filled the whole side of the room. It didn’t take a genius to work out that it was showing the outside of the ship. Streaks of white, cut through an otherwise pitch-black backdrop. We must have been traveling fast from my understanding. Information I’d garnered purely from watching sci-fi shows.
Professor Ogun, or probably Captain Ogun now, sat in a chair looking at a small screen to his side. As we approached, he looked up.
“Shaun! Fantastic. You’re awake,” he cried, jumping straight up from his chair. “We have quite a few things to discuss. Please come with me.”
He then shouted to a tall, brown haired woman he called Astrid to take over command. He beckoned me to follow him to another room. I still couldn’t get over the sheer size of the man as he walked in front of me.
We entered what turned out to be his office. He sat down behind his desk and gestured for me to take a seat.
“I imagine you have a lot of questions, Shaun?”
“Just the one, really. What the fuck is going on?”
“Fair enough,” he laughed. “Let me start by offering an apology. I lied about the true purpose of your therapy. I have in fact, embroiled you in a conflict against my people. But before you judge me, I must first give you some of the backstory.”
“Okay. Hit me with it, Professor.”
“Call me Ogun. No other honorifics are necessary.”
“Ah, okay Ogun.”
“Now, to my story. Approximately seven thousand years ago, my people, the Fystr, were around a few centuries more advanced than the people of Earth are right now. That is not only technologically, but on an evolutionary level too. We had tapped parts of our minds that had previously remained hidden. By doing this, we learned how to extend our lives.
“As you would expect, the majority of our race continued to procreate, and it did not take long for our planet to become seriously overpopulated. Around that same time, we had become a competent space faring race.”
“So, you settled on other planets?” I guessed.
“Yes, we did. The Fystr settled on any habitable planet we found, displacing any alien species we came across along the way. If they did not leave the planet, we annihilated them.”
“Wow! Your people are serious dicks,” I stated. Horrified by the sort of people who would eradicate entire races.
“Yes. I take some solace in the fact I was not born during the conquest phase of my race's galactic expansion, but what came next, is perhaps worse.”
“What the hell could be worse than that?” Distaste colored my words.
“With my people there is always a way to make it worse. Even with our technology and mental advances, settling on a new planet was not easy. Those difficulties became exacerbated, when the Fystr leadership on our home planet began to demand ever more taxes and resources.”
“Always with the taxes, huh?” I said with sarcasm.
“Yes. Legalized robbery seems to be ever present in all societies. Many of the newly colonized planets rebelled. But while they
