A Slave Among Stars Ch. 01

"Section four, please report to Medical for inspection. I repeat. Section four, please report to Medical for inspection." The voice blared over the loudspeaker, jarring Lyra from her sleep. She turned, attempting to untangle herself from her blanket. Today was the day. She sat bolt upright and flung her standard issue blanket to the wall. She was already dressed in her pale blue pants and matching shirt. Nerves had kept her from sleep for hours and she had not bothered to change into her sleepwear. Her bunk mates were also stirring, all in various stages of dress. It was not hard to guess what was on their minds. Hers was abuzz with questions; questions she had no answer to.

She swung her legs over the side of her bunk and shoved her cold feet into her shoes. Would she need shoes? Of course she would. That was such a silly question. The others were starting to shuffle toward the door. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she followed. As she exited the room, her hands wrapped themselves in the hem of her shirt.

"Lyra!" A tiny voice called from the crowd of people amassing in the hallway. Lyra turned this way and that, trying to locate her. The voice squeaked behind her and she felt a tug on her elbow. Saren was nervously glancing around and her fingers wrapped firmly in Lyra's sleeve.

"Are you nervous?" Lyra smiled affectionately down at her friend. Saren nodded silently in response. She was such a small girl. Saren was much shorter than Lyra and while the same age, she looked like a child. Her short black hair hung in her eyes, shielding her eyes that were likely brimming with tears. She clung to Lyra's sleeve like a leech. Lyra left the hem of her shirt alone and patted her friend's hand.

"Me too." At least she wasn't lying. It was hard to hide her nervousness. The friends followed the crowd down the hallway, heading in the direction of Medical Unit A. Lyra had been there several times before. Each year they had to report for an inspection. They were poked, prodded, and measured. They were never told the purpose of these tests, only that they were necessary. Everyone here knew that once you reached the age of eighteen, there was only one inspection left. Once you had your final inspection, you were never seen again. Rumors and stories floated around the dorm. Maybe they were moved to another facility? Perhaps they died? Lyra didn't know which one she believed. Those questions always went unanswered from the Keepers.

Keepers, the people in the white coats. Ever present, ever watching. Each floor reported to a single Keeper. That Keeper gave them their orders each day. Where to go, what to do, when to do it. Everything was a routine. At the end of the hall, Lyra saw the familiar face of their Keeper. She was a woman much older than Lyra. Gray streaks peeked through the flat brown hair that she had pulled neatly into a bun. Her lips were always drawn in a thin line. Thinking on it now, Lyra was certain she had never seen her smile. She was kind enough, but a stickler for the rules. As Lyra watched her, she lifted a small device to her mouth and the announcement echoed down the hall through the speakers once more. The voice was dry and emotionless.

Lyra caught her gaze for only a moment. Her eyes seemed distant and it sent a chill through Lyra. Did she know something? Could she tell Lyra what would happen to them? The eye contact was broken when someone jostled Lyra and the moment was over. Lyra was headed toward the lift. Saren had started to shake. Lyra grabbed her hand and squeezed.

"Its going to be okay." Saren shook her head and sniffed quietly. Lyra's own nerves felt like she would burst out of her skin. The ride in the lift took mere seconds but it seemed to drag on forever. Finally she felt the lift give a slight jolt and the doors slid open. Others were spilling out of the adjoining lifts and gathering at the entrance to Medical Unit A. Two Keepers were scanning the ID bracelets on each person's wrist as they went through the door. Another Keeper beyond the door was directing them were to stand.

Lyra and Saren lifted their wrists obediently to be scanned and rounded the corner into the unit. They made their way down the hall and a rather rotund Keeper, unknown to Lyra, grabbed Saren by the arm.

"No, I want to stay with her." Saren protested. The Keeper silently tore her from Lyra's arm and shoved her into a line that had formed in front of a closed door. Lyra felt gentle but firm hands settle on her arms and she was guided to a line that ran parallel to Saren's.

"I'm right here. It is okay, Saren." Lyra tried to reassure her friend. The girl was so small and frail looking. The two had grown up together. They might as well be sisters and Lyra had always looked out for Saren. Now, standing in this line, she wasn't so sure she could anymore. Would they be separated? They had kept them together this long. Certainly, they'd keep them together now. Right?

The door in front of her line swung open and a Keeper directed the person at the front of the line to enter. Nine more followed, including Lyra. She aimed a quick smile at Saren before she disappeared through the door.

The room she had entered was stark white with ten stations set up against the wall. They were ordered to stand on a taped square on the floor. It was worn and peeling at the edges. She toyed with the end of the tape with her shoe while they waited. Ten medically trained Keepers entered through a door at the other end of the room. They walked in single file and approached to begin their assessment without a word. The woman assigned to Lyra first measured her height and weight. She looked in her ears and shined a light in her eyes. The woman was older, much like her Floor Keeper. The only difference was that her hips flared out and her legs tapered to tiny feet shoved into equally tiny shoes. Her hair was pinned back in the same neat bun. Her shoes made the only sound in the room as she clacked around Lyra, listening and looking. A small pen tapped across the handheld screen laid across her forearm. Lyra wanted to ask her about what would happen to her, but she remained silent. This woman didn't seem to want to talk.

"Strip." The word made her jump. She had not expected the woman to say anything. The shoes clacked behind her and the woman appeared to her right.

"E...excuse me?" Lyra wasn't sure she had heard her correctly. The Keeper looked up from her screen with a look of annoyance. She wiggled her pen at Lyra, indicating her clothing.

"Take off your shirt and pants and set them on the table there." Lyra looked around her. She was in a room with so many other people. She had only ever been naked in front of a Keeper during annual inspections. Trembling, she pulled the shirt over her head and laid it gently on the table. Her cotton pants followed and she stood in just her shoes. Instinctively her arms came up to cover herself. Lyra gazed around the room but no one was watching her. The others in her group were being subjected to the same orders. The young man a few feet from her stood in the nude, his bare chest heaving with his anxiety. The Keeper in front of her cleared her throat and Lyra's attention snapped forward.

"Get on the table." Her pen pointed behind her. There was a table that was familiar to Lyra. During her annual inspection, they also had a reproductive exam. This was nothing new to Lyra, but again, the circumstances were different. She climbed up onto the table and crossed her legs and arms in an attempt to hide herself. One hand was pressed against her tuft of pubic hair and the right arm was covering her nipples. The Keeper approached and pressed her fingers firmly to Lyra's sternum. Lyra permitted herself to be pushed back onto the table. The pen rapped the edge of the stirrups and she complied. With her feet in the stirrups, Lyra was exposed. A male Keeper stood on the opposite wall and she could have sworn he smirked. A male had never looked at her before. She brought her knees together but her assigned inspector gave her thigh a swat and she let them fall open. She lay her head back and stared at the ceiling. It would be over soon. Gloved fingers prodded her pelvis and there was the familiar intrusion. It was over in a matter of seconds.

"You are done. Put your clothes back on and exit through the door." The woman tapped the screen a few times and gave a weak smile. Lyra was back in her clothes as quickly as possible. At least it was over. The others were finishing up as well. They filed out through the door at the back of the room and were met by a much larger room. It was brightly lit by large elongated light fixtures. The floor was cold cement and Lyra was glad to have her shoes. She immediately began searching for Saren. Everyone seemed just as nervous and they huddled together on one side of the room. Saren was nowhere to be found. Lyra asked if anyone had seen where she went, but no one could provide an answer. Either they did not know or they were too worried about their own fates to bother.

A large, burly Keeper stepped out in front of the group. His hands were clasped behind his back and he leaned forward slightly, as if the extra few inches made him more easily heard. His voice boomed out and echoed off the bare cement walls.

"Attention Section 4. Please form two lines in front of the bay door behind me. Keep quiet and keep still unless you are given the order to move." The group hurried to form the indicated lines. Lyra felt her palms start to sweat and she wound them in the hem of her shirt again. It was such a nervous habit; one that had stretched her shirt out far longer than it should be.

All but two of the Keepers left the room. The two that remained stationed themselves by the bay door, each holding a half-meter long baton behind them. They stood with their feet shoulder width apart, and became still as statues. For what felt like hours, they waited. Shoes impatiently shuffled in place. It was beneath her shoes that Lyra began to feel something. It was a hum and it was subtle at first, but it escalated at an alarming rate. Within seconds, the lines were reduced to panic as the bay door shook violently. The metal door danced in its rails and Lyra was sure it would collapse. Her heart pounded in her chest and all she could do was stare at the shaking bay door.

"Stay where you are. Do not move." The Keeper's voice was nearly drowned out by the roar. Lyra's gaze deviated from the door to look at him with an odd fascination. This was the first time Lyra had cause to feel fear. Everyone else in the room was panicking, but this man and his partner were calm and collected. They had not even bothered to look up at the crashing metal behind them. Eyes scanned the room continuously, watching out for those who would break from the line or shout. They had been through this before with those that had come before Lyra. It wasn't until the Keeper reached over to press a green button on the panel next to him that she realized the noise had stopped.

His gloved finger depressed the button and the bay door gave a slight shudder before starting its slow rise. A puff of hot, acrid air came through into the room. Lyra gagged and started to cough. Everyone strained to see under the door as it continued it torturous journey upward. What lay on the other side of the door was a massive strip of cement, strewn with painted markings unfamiliar to Lyra. At the far end of this strip was an equally massive structure. It was long and metal. Lyra did not know what to make of it. One end was tapered while the other end flared into two enormous glowing eyes that gazed off into the distance.

"What is that thing?" The young man next to her blurted out. The Keeper stepped to the center of the two lines and held his baton up above his head.

"Keep still...and quiet!" He boomed. The waiting lines formed up again and stood silent as stones.

"Good. Now that I have your attention. What you see over there is a ship. You will calmly and quietly exit this building and follow the green line to the ship." He turned with a click of his boots to stand on a green marking on the cement. He stood a moment before turning back to face the frightened young men and women.

"If I see so much as a toe out of line, you will regret it." He waggled his baton to emphasize his threat. Lyra was on the verge of tears. She wanted to run as far from here as she could. Where could she go? Before she could devise an answer, the person behind her gave her a shove and she was forced to move forward. The Keeper that had addressed them led them slowly outside. His steps fell in a measured pace. The procession of blue uniforms made their way across the strip agonizingly slow. Lyra's eyes were fixated on the "ship". What did it do? Was it a machine? The eyes at the back of the ship were glowing a brilliant red. The air surrounding them was hazy and Lyra could feel the heat emanating from them. The closer they inched, the hotter it seemed to get. Fifty yards from the ship, the Keeper turned to face them. Before he could say anything there was a metallic clink and a hiss of air from the side of the ship. A wide piece of metal started a slow decent to the ground. It was a door!

It gaped open to reveal a passageway. It was barren and metallic and led up into darkness. The door met the concrete with a grating sound. The Keeper pasted a smile on his face and addressed them once more.

"Listen up! This facility has raised you and taught you. From this day forward you are no longer the property of this facility. You will now report to Captain Remäat. He will be giving the orders from here on out." A figure emerged from the shadowy depth of the ship and came to a halt on the ramp.

The creature resembled a bloated toad, only it stood well over six feet tall. His grotesque head sat directly on his wide shoulders. The skin was sickeningly green and it glistened in the sunlight. Clothing was sparse and consisted of a simple pair of loose trousers. His chest and torso were bare. The eyes were sunken in and it's mouth protruded from his face like a snub-nosed lizard. His lip seemed to snag upward. Was it smiling or snarling? The gum line sported serrations. A cracking sound came from the terrifying maw and Lyra realized the creature was speaking. Or at least, it appeared it was attempting to do so. He held out a cylindrical object to the Keeper.

"Step forward and keep still. There will be a slight discomfort." The young man at the front of the line stepped forward and the Keeper pressed the end of the cylinder to his left temple. Lyra could see him squirm and he let out a yelp. When the cylinder was removed from his head, she could see a small piece of metal stuck to his skin. The Keeper did not waste time. He moved to the next person and repeated the process. Lyra felt a pinch when the cylinder was pressed to the left side of her head. The Keeper was gone as soon as he had started. Lyra lifted a finger to touch the object. It was flat and sat almost flush against her skin. But it wasn't flat. She could feel a subtle, intricate pattern etched into its surface.

The Keeper returned to the creature and handed the now empty cylinder back. Thick fingers wrapped around it and held it up for them to see. The creature let out another crackling noise and a claw reached up and pressed a button on its other end.

Pain exploded in Lyra's skull. A scream erupted out of her and her knees found cement. Her fingers clawed at the chip of metal on her temple but they could find no purchase. The pain was intensifying. She pulled her fingers away to see the blood she knew should be there, but her fingers were pale and clean. Another wave of pain washed over her and she curled into a ball on the ground. Peering through the tears in her eyes, she saw the others were having a similar experience. After a few minutes the pain began to ebb. Lyra sat on the ground trying to breath through the rippling waves in her brain. She looked up at the creature and her eyes slowly focused. He looked very pleased with himself.

He opened his mouth and Lyra expected the same harsh sound to come but instead, a raspy voice spoke words she actually understood. The movements of his jaw did not match the words she heard. It was a very disorienting experience and it did not help the waves of nausea that had started to wash over her.

"I am Captain Remäat. What I have given you is a translator. Do not remove it." He stopped and his lip curled back again into a wicked grin.

"Or try if you must. The experience will be...unpleasant and likely unsuccessful" His head turned and called into the abyss. Two others creatures just like him emerged and stood on the edge of the ramp. Lyra didn't think it was possible, but these two looked even more hideous.

"Turäck and Renött will escort you aboard the ship. Do not cross them. They have permission to deal with you as they please should you misbehave. They have a taste for violence." The creature that the captain had indicated as Turäck peeled his lips back, revealing his serrated gums. His claws clicked against an object on his belt. From the sound it made, it was also made of metal, though Lyra could not identify what it was.

"Move!" Turäck was a creature of little words. His bulk shook as he moved off the ramp. It was intimidating and the prone figures on the ground jolted upright to scatter. They hurried into the ship's passageway. Lyra looked back at the Keeper, but he was already striding back toward the open bay door at the end of the strip. His steps were just as slow and measured as before. The creatures joined them in the passage and without any obvious command, the ramp rose slowly back into place, shrouding them in darkness.

Bodies bumped into each other along the dark passage. The creatures seemed to have no problem navigating the darkness. Captain Remäat followed at a distance and Lyra felt a primal fear well up inside her. He was a predator in the dark, and they were a herd of frightened sheep. The passage veered to the left and they found themselves in a dimly lit room. Large metal crates and barrels lined the floor but what held Lyra's attention the most was the bars stretching from the floor to the ceiling at one end of the room. Renött swung a barred door open and pointed to the enclosure.

"Get in and do not make a sound." The humans silently obeyed. When the last one entered, the creature slammed the door shut and pressed a few buttons on a keypad. The clang of the lock echoed around the chamber.

"Get comfortable. Its going to be bumpy." Renött sneered and Lyra could smell his hot breath as close as he was to the bars. The enclosure was roomy enough she could back up a few steps. This seemed to please him. Without another word, the three creatures left the cargo hold and disappeared through a hatch.

"What is going to happen to us?" A young woman shrieked. She fell to her knees in sobs. Lyra let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and with it followed a lump that lodged in her throat. She sank to the floor and hugged her knees to her chest. The tears sprung from her eyes willingly and she wept. Confusion and fear dominated her mind. Whatever ideas she had come up with to explain the disappearance of the older sections were nothing compared to this. This was not what she had envisioned at all. What would become of them? Where would they go?

A gentle hum invaded her thoughts. She didn't just feel it in the floor. It was in the walls. Looking up from her tear stained knees, she saw the others were slowly becoming aware of the hum as well.

"What is that?" someone called out. Lyra had an idea. She had felt a hum earlier at the facility and this ship arrived. Perhaps this hum meant the ship was leaving. Leaving to go where? The hum intensified and Lyra braced herself as best as she could against the wall.