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| Salida looked down at the blue and white orb spinning below her. She found it difficult to believe that in a few hours she would be trapped on that world, never to leave. Though the official name of the world was Oceaquia, she thought of it as Ratiuga, a word that in her native tongue meant both peace and sorrow. She felt this to be a most suitable name, as she sought the former from the latter. She looked sadly around the sparse ships cabin that had been her home for the past month and a half. Apart from the furnishings and her baggage, there was little else in the room, except a small, delicate figurine perched on the triangular tabletop. It was the only thing that Salida placed any value on, a pewter statue of Naphina, the goddess of fate on her home world, now the only one in existence anywhere. She looked away from it, overwhelmed by her memories and waves of sadness, with an ironic laugh, thinking, It figures. The one whom they would have killed for heresy and witchcraft is the only one who survives. A soft beep came from the wall, and the door slid open. "Salida Poo... Pod...Podulgui?" the young ensign stumbled over her name. She nodded kindly, and he continued, "Your transport to the surface is ready, Ma'am." She met the young man's eyes, and he stepped back, as if to resist some force which tried to suck him into the deep amethyst pools of her eyes. She looked demurely down, breaking the hold, and muttered to herself, "I must remember not to do that here." Her eyes darted around the room one last time, as the shaking young ensign picked up the bags. She carried the statue cautiously, lest it should fall and the thing within be revealed. She boarded the small shuttlecraft and watched as it glided out into the black void of space, before it turned towards the planet. It glowed a fiery red as it scorched down through the atmosphere of the planet, to land at the water's edge. After exchanging very brief pleasantries with her escort, she disembarked and set foot on the sandy ground. At last, her mind cried out, I'm here. Away from the accusing stares and the whispered voices behind my back. Salida began to relax, until she spotted a pair of uniform-clad people walking towards her. Relax, she admonished herself, standard procedure. " Podulgui, Salida?" the man asked, and she nodded. "Come with us please." He turned and the woman with him motioned for her to follow. As she saw no other choice, she followed the man, and the woman fell into step behind her. They walked as if in some outlandish parade, each just a split second out of step with the others. She grinned at the thought, bitter though it was. It seems I will never escape my fate, she mused, as they headed into the small building labeled "Detention Center". She followed him into a small room, where he sat on one side of a table, and motioned for her to sit on the other. She reluctantly sat down on the cold metal chair, wincing as the frosty bite of the metal bit through her thin wrap dress. His partner closed the door and went to get a cup of what passed for coffee on this world. "I just need to ask you a few questions." he told her as he pulled out a clipboard and pen, and pushed a button on the wall, which Salida knew from past experiences activated a camera and microphone. "Now then, why have you come to Oceaquia?" She repressed the urge to laugh. All that for this? It seemed almost too good to be true. She smiled as she said, "Seemed like as good of a place as any." to live out the remainder of my life alone, she added mentally. "And how long will you be here?" the man queried. "I'm moving here, so permanently." she replied, her eyes searching his face, but carefully avoiding meeting his eyes. "Where did you live before this?" he sought to catch her eyes, but she planted them firmly on her fingernails, noticing that the purple polish was chipping badly. She thought for a moment, then said in a hushed voice, "Moons Weeper, Jakilak Seven according to the old star maps." The man looked astonished at her, then said in a quivering tenor, "The world that exploded? I thought..." "That no one survived?" she laughed bitterly, "I only wish that it had been the case. But clearly, I survived." She looked the already confounded man in the eyes, sending him falling and gasping for breath. "Now, if there's no objections," she said to the camera hidden in the wall, "I'm going to go unpack." She walked out of the room, and the woman stopped her, surrounded by Herculean men. "You can't leave yet." she said menacingly. "Can't I?" she replied. The woman reached for her statue, saying, "I think it would be best if we put this someplace..." "NO!" Salida shouted. The woman grabbed it and tried to pull it away, but Salida hung on tightly. She felt it slipping from her fingers, and watched it fall, spinning slowly as if in slow motion. "NO...O...O..." her voice resounded, deep and slow. The statue hit the floor with a thud, then a sharp crack echoed throughout the galaxy. A black mist came seeping out, tendrils of it curling around their ankles, twisting and winding it's way up their bodies and into their mouths. It burned down their throats, choking them, leaving them gasping for air in vain. Their last vision was of the mysterious woman, Salida, standing there laughing, surrounded by the mist, and had anyone still lived after the black mist blanketed the world, they would have heard her cackling. |
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