Who are these people? Reva wondered as the strong men marched her down the narrow corridor. With her cheek still stinging and the two men gripping both her arms, she felt less like she’d been rescued and more like she’d been taken prisoner.
The corridor opened up to a wider hallway, with portholes on one side. The stars were dim, and Reva saw no sign of any planet or space station. At twenty meter intervals along the wall, three circular emergency chutes took the place of the portholes. From her father’s engineering work, she knew that they led to the escape pods, which meant that she was on a starship. But judging from the length of the hallway, the ship must be huge—almost the size of Anuva Station, if not larger.
They passed a handful of people along the way, all of them wearing second-skins. Most of them were men, and all of them stopped to stare at her. She thought it was the tattoos at first, but then she noticed that some of them were snickering. What was their problem? Had they never seen tattoos before? Or was it something else?
They entered a cylindrical elevator chamber with grated floors that clawed at her bare feet. The air was much cooler than she was accustomed to, making her shiver. Even in the elevator, the strong men refused to release her.
Where are they taking me?
They marched her into an empty chamber with a desk and a computer terminal. The strong man on her right pulled out a keycard and held it against an access panel next to another set of doors, which opened to reveal a short, narrow corridor. Holding cells for prisoners lined either side. Reva could tell what they were from the heavy deadbolts built into each one. The doors were actually more like hatches, since they sat on hinges and were raised about half a meter above the floor. They each had a small porthole with bars over the front of them. An ozone scent in the air told her that they were electrified.
So I am a prisoner.
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Strangers in Flight
When Reva went into cryosleep, she wasn't prepared to be the sole survivor of a people that history never remembered. Isaac wants to help her, but he carries a secret that may decide the outcome of the war. Little does he know, the Imperials aren't the only ones hunting him.
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