Page 33 of Fionn
The wall to my right flashed brightly, then turned into an image. Underwater, bubbles floating through the murky sea. Fast movement. Shadows flicking at the edge of the screen. This could have been filmed anywhere, but I knew in my heart that this was what I'd seen when Kelon had dragged me through the water at a speed only his kind could achieve.
And yes, there was my hand, gripping the tube connecting the regulator to my oxygen tank. More shadows. Kelon's body, huge and scary. His hand clawing at the camera - at my face. Breaking the surface, sunlight streaming down on us, water drops flying everywhere, and then his face, a mask of greed and delight. He loved seeing me helpless like that. He enjoyed inflicting fear and pain.
But I didn’t want to watch this without commentary. I needed to make my voice heard.
“Kelon grabbed me,” I said loudly. “He didn’t check if I was breathing. He didn’t check anything.”
“THE RECORD REFLECTS THIS.”
I didn't want to see it. But when I turned my head away from the screen, the wall opposite flashed and began to show the same memory from Kelon’s perspective.
To Kelon, I had looked small and vulnerable. He watched Maelis and me swimming down towards the cave entrance. He waited for her to have a slight lead, then he rushed me, wrapping his arms around me, crushing me against his chest. And then he swam and swam, far away, never checking on my wellbeing. I could have been unable to breathe and he wouldn't have noticed. That by itself told me everything I needed to know.
Kelon smoothed his hair, trying to appear bored. “You are dramatizing a rescue.”
A rescue? What an arse.
“I would like to speak,” I said, louder. “I want to set the record straight.”
“PROCEED.”
I stepped closer to the glass so Kelon would have to look at me. “Kelon took me against my consent. He never asked. He didn’t give me any warning. He just took.”
Kelon leered at me. “You’re just saying that because I’m an alien. If I were Peritan, you would have accepted me.”
I scoffed. “It has nothing to do with your species and everything with your behaviour. Fionn… From the first moment, he asked before he touched me. He called the Hot Tatties agency instead of breaking rules. He put me first.”
My hands were shaking. I waited for the genderless voice to react. The silence felt like the held breath before a dive.
A new rectangle flickered into life—another window, this time a live feed. Fionn. His face filled the projection, jaw set, shoulders squared, the dark fall of his hair pulled back. Behind him: Captain Maggnus and two crew, tense but present.
“WE HAVE BEEN PROVIDED WITH EVIDENCE FROM A RELIABLE WITNESS.”
For a moment, I expected Fionn to appear in the room, but instead, a new screen flashed to life, showing another large finman.
“I am Captain Maggnus,” he said in a deep, polished voice. “This is an internal bridge log captured at 03:12 ship-time the sunpass before landfall.”
An audio recording played, echoing through the room. Kelon’s voice was loud and clear.
“That’s why I want to keep our stay on Peritus as short as possible. Land, grab some females, test if we’re compatible, grab some more females, leave.”
“YOU ATTEMPTED TO ABDUCT A PROTECTED BEING,” the disembodied voice said tonelessly. “WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE INTERGALACTIC AUTHORITY NOR THE ASSOCIATED AGENCIES.”
“Protected… As if. She wants to be with a finman,” he scoffed. “Peritans don’t even-”
“Stop saying Peritans like we’re insects,” I snapped. “And I’m here because you dragged me under the water.”
His lip twitched. “You were intrigued enough by our world.”
“Not by you,” I said. I didn’t raise my voice. “By Fionn.”
He didn’t reply, just glared.
I stared back at him, finally facing him without fear. “Why me, Kelon? Why choose the moment when I was diving? You could have asked to talk on land.”
He worked his jaw. “Because you were there, swimming where I was swimming. And asking takes time.”
There it was. Not romance. Not fate. Logistics.
