“We are trained to handle such danger,” he reminded her. “You’re not.”
“So were those cyborgs Shui’s going to execute any minute now!” Her voice broke, and she had to turn away as tears filled her eyes. Damn it. She wasn’t going to cry right now. Tears solved nothing. But just the chance of Nas being one of those cyborgs…
Ranvir hated seeing her upset like this and realized this was why she was being so stubborn. She was scared her brother was about to die. Engulfing her in his arms, he tried to reassure her. “Nas is too smart to be caught by bounty hunters, Taly. You know that.”
Taly silently nodded against his chest.
“Umm, guys,” Vujcec interjected, reminding them they weren’t alone.
Looking over his shoulder, Ranvir demanded. “What?”
“The broadcast is beginning. Do you want me to…?”
“Put it on the main screen,” Taly told him. She made no move to wipe away her tears as she turned in Ranvir’s arms and faced forward. She was going to need his support if Nas appeared on the screen.
The main screen flickered before it cleared, revealing grey metal walls and a transparent one. It had all four cyborgs viciously cursing.
“What?” she asked.
“That’s a maintenance room on the Nissa,” Ranvir told her in a tight voice. “Technicians use it to make external repairs on the ship.”
“But…” Before Taly could ask why that upset them, five chained people were marched into the room surrounded by twenty heavily armed guards, the visors of their helmets pulled down, making them faceless. The guards secured the chains to the floor and then marched out, allowing the first clear look at the prisoners.
Taly’s gaze flew over the group. They were all males. Three were cyborgs. Two were not. She felt her heart stop when she realized one of the cyborgs had hair the same color as hers. As the camera traveled over the group, it zoomed in on each face, and her knees gave out. “Ranvir!”
“I know,” he told her, holding her upright.
“Loyal citizens of Kirs,” Shui’s image appeared. It was evident from the throne he sat on that he was on Kirs, not the Nissa. “Before you stand five traitors who have tried to destroy everything we are, everything we stand for. They’ve already shown how violent they can be.
“How little regard they have for innocent lives by blowing up five ships in their attempt to flee from the sentence they received by the Kirs justice system. Let what happens here today be celebrated throughout our universe, for there will be five fewer traitors for you to worry about. Five less who will murder your children in their sleep. Five less who will threaten our way of life.”
Shui looked to his right and nodded.
The transparent wall behind the prisoners began to shimmer, and an unseen wind filled the chamber, lifting the accused off their feet as far as their chains allowed. The cyborgs remained stoic, keeping their arms firmly at their sides as they floated in the air. The other males frantically clawed at their throats, their eyes bulging.
“What… what’s going on?” Taly whispered, unable to look away from the horrific scene playing out in front of her. “What’s Shui doing to them?”
“He’s opening the airlock,” Pike told her quietly. “Suffocating them for the entire universe to witness.”
The broadcast continued until all five lifeless bodies floated in the room, tethered to this world only by their chains. When the anchors on the floor released, their bodies drifted out into the blackness of space.
“I… I can’t believe he did that,” she sobbed into Ranvir’s chest as Vujcec killed the feed.
“I’m sorry, Taly,” Vujcec said quietly. “I would have liked to have met your brother.”
“What?” she asked, raising her head to stare at him, confused.
“Your brother, Nas,” Vujcec clarified. “I’m sorry he died like that.”
“Died like…” Taly shook her head. “None of those cyborgs was Nas.”
“What?” Vujcec’s eyebrows drew together. “But I thought because of your reaction….”
“It was relief,” Ranvir answered for her before looking to the others. “I didn’t recognize any of them. Did any of you?”
“No, none of them were from my pod,” Pike told him.
“Mine either,” Tane said.