Page 31 of Escape from Nova Nine
And they weren't going without as many griffins as they could carry. Sutrio nominated herself as the queen of the griffins. She’d have help from Zade in calling the griffins to them. Whether they’d go into the ships and stay there for the launch was another matter.
At the newly exposed rock face, nine meters beyond the tunnel tarp, Lantham checked the strap of his stilt, then picked up the cutter.
“Workgroup 17-C. Shift over. Stop operations. Secure equipment. Stand by for escort to the cells. Acknowledge and report individually.”
Lantham hesitated, then turned off the cutter and announced that he’d done so. She, Sutrio, and Zade all followed suit, then lined up next to the enviro unit. The instructions were the same as always. The timing most definitely was not. The mine hadn’t ever ended a shift after only one hour.
Lhap Cho and Dajoya entered through the airlock. Their expressions were forbidding and their shields tight as they ushered them into the access tunnel for the long walk to the mine exit.
Except they didn’t go to the decontamination transition zone, they marched straight to the seldom-used emergency door that took them straight to the cells. A quick glance down the hall proved they weren’t the only prisoners being ordered into their block, still wearing their exosuits, locked in their cells, and told to lie down and shut up.
All except Zade.
Julke fought to keep all expression off her face as Dajoya took him aside, slapped shackles on his wrists. She clearly enjoyed announcing that he had an appointment with the interrogation team.
* * *
Zade thought he knew what terror was, but each step closer to the interrogation rooms proved he’d been wrong.
The enforcer who took custody of him shoved him through an entrance and shut the door.
The bright room had one knee-high medical corpse cart and two red-sashed women, both holding amped-up shocksticks.
The taller woman unlocked his shackles, then pointed her shockstick toward him. “Take off your exosuit and lie down.”
He complied without argument, remembering what the shockstick could do.
When the woman tapped a control, the cart wrapped his ankles and upper body in metal bands. He was getting tired of lying on carts naked.
A familiar pressure built in his head, more painful than he’d ever felt, then subsided.
“Fuck.” The short, muscular woman made a face. “He really is telepath immune. We’ll have to do this the hard way.” When she stepped aside, he saw a medic’s tray of jets. His stomach bottomed out as she selected one and primed it.
The tall woman leaned over him. “What was your last job before Shenyan Surkai Space Station?”
“Trade expediter.” Jacker slang for sellers of stolen goods to buyers who paid in anonymous cashflow chips and didn’t ask questions.
Annoyance crossed her face. “What ship?”
“Ebion Alba.” That was the name he’d put on his quals list. It came to him, belatedly, that a sifter was probably nearby and calibrating his honesty.
The short woman stepped closer and knelt, drug jet in her hand. “We don’t have time for Yes-and-No. The Warden wants answers now.”
He let his alarm show on his face. “Er, did you check my record? I’m allergic to a lot of chems. The intake medics nearly killed me. Not that Iwantto be interrogated, but better that than dead.”
The short woman hesitated, then swore. “Truth.” She rose to her feet, crossed to the tray, and picked up a tablet.
The tall woman rested her fists on her hips. “Let’s cut to the core. Why would three jacker ships show up on our very well-hidden doorstep looking for one man?”
Zade blinked. He didn’t believe in coincidence. They could only be the highly motivated Fazhian and her allies.
The fallback distraction he’d promised Julke had come early. He hoped to the stars she was taking advantage of it. He’d have to do his part for as long as he could. “What man?”
The tall woman gave him a silent, considering look. “What do you know about Riorojo Waorani?”
“Huh?” He didn’t have to pretend confusion. “Nothing.” Remembering the nearby sifter listening for lies, he added, “Well, I know he’s a… hewasa sifter and a teke. I guess he’s a Red Team guardian now? I don’t know how long that takes.”
The short woman came back with a different jet and slammed it into his hip. “Let’s try this again.”
