I knew immediately that something wasn’t right. My muscles were stiff and sore and my head pounded. Why did I feel so bad?
I opened my eyes to a dark room and tried to remember what I’d done before I’d gone to sleep. My mind searched for a clue.
We’d been travelling through space for a fortnight… we’d landed… the jungle… laser fire—
Now I was fully awake. My heartbeat raced and my head pounded faster to match.
I knew what I was feeling. Why I felt so bad. I knew I’d been hit with a stunner.
In combat training at school, we’d been shown what it feels like to be shot with a stun gun. Yes, on Shakira, they actually shoot their twelve-year-olds with stunners. It was totally normal and totally acceptable. It was a necessary part of our education. So we were told.
I knew I’d feel this way for the next few hours, at least. It depended on the strength of the stunner blast.
I tried not to think about that. I needed to assess the situation. Where was I? Who attacked us? What did they want? Was I a prisoner? Had someone from Voyager Division stepped in and saved us?
I was in a soft bed in a small room with a tiny singular light on the ceiling that barely illuminated the walls.
A humming noise startled me, but I breathed a sigh of relief when I recognised the dark shadow of a Bio-scan floating past and scanning me from my head down to my feet. Once it scanned my vitals, it returned to its resting place at the head of the bed. I was most likely in a medical facility.
Once it landed, I stretched and sat up, putting my bare feet out onto a cold floor. Where were my shoes? I ran my hands over my clothing and through my hair. The small braids and beads I liked to put in my hair had been taken out and my clothes were different. A chill ran down my spine. Someone had changed my clothing while I was out.
My heart was trying to beat its way out of my ribcage, but I refused to let my fear rule my actions. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I needed to find out what was going on, and fast.
I could make out a door to my left, so I crept over and tried to activate the lock, with no luck. Maybe I was a prisoner.
My headache increased and I attempted to slow my breathing, but it was difficult. I needed to stay calm and think. Panicking now would not help me.
Maybe there were cameras in the room. Maybe they knew I was awake and I could get some answers.
It was too dark to see much of anything. I walked around a little to try to work out the stiffness in my legs. Moving my arms hurt too, but I pushed through it. A stunner blast caused every muscle to contract, so you were left feeling like you’d had an intense muscle cramp. All over.
The sooner my muscles were back to normal, the better. Not only because I would feel better, but I needed to be in a position to defend myself. I kept walking and moving my arms around until the door opened and the lights brightened.
I assumed a defensive stance, wishing I had a weapon. “Who are you and what do you want?”
The bearded man standing in the doorway put his hands up, palms out. “Whoah, there, it’s okay. I’m your doctor. I won’t hurt you.”
I wasn’t going to relax yet. “What happened? What’s going on?”
“What do you remember?”
I shifted my stance slightly. “We were attacked by laser fire on the planet’s surface. I was shot with a stunner and woke up here.”
He slowly put his arms down. “Your group was attacked by the Varekai. They are ruthless pirates. My soldiers rescued you. You are lucky to be alive.”
I frowned. “Why would pirates attack us?”
“We haven’t determined what their motivations were. We did not detect their approach as they used advanced cloaking technology. By the time we realized what had happened, it was too late to help you. We don’t have a transporter here at Maztec, so we couldn’t get there quickly.”
“Maztec?”
“Yes. Voyager Division has two underground bases here on Althar 3. Station Jannali is our main base of operations and Maztec is relatively new. My name is Dr Starrick and I’m in charge here. You’re in safe hands.”
I let my arms fall to my sides. I recalled something about a second base in our training, but hadn’t paid much attention as we weren’t going to be working there. I simply nodded.
His eyebrows rose. “Won’t you sit down? You must be feeling terrible. I’ll arrange some painkillers for your ailments.”
I sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at my unfamiliar clothing and wishing I had some shoes. “Where are my clothes?”
He smiled. “They were filthy from the jungle, so we took the liberty of washing them for you. We don’t have any clothing at the base large enough to fit a Shakiran, but I’m sure you’ll find the clothes you’re wearing comfortable enough. For that same reason, you’ll have to wait for your own shoes to be cleaned and returned to you.”
The white two-piece day suit I wore was uncomfortable and was a little too short in the sleeves and pant legs. What was even more uncomfortable was the unsettling thought of a stranger dressing me. “Who dressed me?” And washed me…
He smiled again but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Don’t worry. It was one of my female nurses.”
That didn’t make me feel much better. Some stranger had still seen me naked. Seen the scars on my body from years of combat training when I was too young to defend myself properly.
I ran my hands through my dishevelled hair. Why was he so casually talking about clothing when there were more pressing concerns here?
“Where are the others? Did anyone get hurt? I heard people screaming and saw someone running through the trees before we were found and stunned.”
He shifted his weight and took a deep breath. “I am sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you are the only survivor.”
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Author's Note: This is the end of the free sample of SHAKIRAN. If you’re loving this story and want to find out what happens next, you can choose to pay for the entire story, pay by chapter (the story is 35 chapters and is complete), or you can subscribe to support me. Subscribers get access to all my paid content.
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