Dark Space: Origin (56 page)
Less than half an hour later, when Gors burst into the med bay in their glossy black armor, Donali held Kaon at gunpoint and told them not to take another step. Kaon smiled and warbled something. At that the Gors shot them both.
In the dark, Donali had no concept of time. His artificial eye helped him to see and pick out details of his surroundings which a regular human wouldn’t be able to observe, but all he saw were the usual glossy black walls and floor of a Sythian ship. He also noticed strange, hulking shadows moving around him. His brain made no sense of it, however, and it all felt like a strange and terrifying dream. All he knew was that he wasn’t dead. The Sythians had kept him alive. But why?
At last, he was awake and conscious enough to think clearly, but his thoughts were different now. He knew where he was and why. He wasn’t frightened. And the cold, unfeeling darkness was a comfort to him—a touch of home.
A moment later a dim light snapped on, and now Donali could see better. He tried to sit up and found that he could. There was no need to restrain him. He looked around and saw more beds like the one where he lay, each of them occupied by another man or woman of his species. There were thousands of them, and the room where they lay was so large that Donali couldn’t even see the walls or ceiling, just endless rows of humans, disappearing to all sides of him.
A voice spoke into the darkness, warbling at him in a language which he now knew. “Arise,” it said. Donali did as he was told and stood up. “Walk toward the light.”
A yellow light appeared in the distance, shining through the darkness, and Donali strode toward it, his footsteps eager, driven and purposeful.
When he reached that light, he found someone waiting for him. It was High Lord Kaon. Donali recognized him by the subtle pattern of lavender freckles on his translucent skin, as well as by the gills in the sides of his neck.
“My lord,” Donali warbled.
“We have a special purpose for you, Lenon Donali.”
“I await the honor of hearing it.”
“You will meet the admiral as planned in your ship, at the entrance of Dark Space.”
“As you wish, my lord.”
“You will get close to him.”
“Yess—” Donali hissed, anticipating the rest of his mission. “—and kill him!”
“No. You will capture him and bring him to us. We will use him to find the lost sector of humans, and
then
we will kill him.”
Donali tried to hide his disappointment, but he would do as he was told. “It will be done, my lord.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasper T. Scott
is the author of more than seven novels, written across various genres. He has been writing for more than seven years, but his abiding passion has always been to write science fiction and fantasy. As an avid fan of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, Jasper Scott aspires to create his own worlds to someday capture the hearts and minds of his readers as thoroughly as these franchises have.
Jasper writes his books from a Central America and offers his sincerest apologies and regrets for his long absence from the rat race, but to all the noble warriors who venture out daily into the wintry cold on their way to work or school, he sends his regards—you are braver than he.