Rayne studied the strange room, her heart thudding. She had flung herself at Rawn when the golden light engulfed them, her skin prickling with static power. The glow had faded to reveal the odd white room. Rawn had held her with one arm while he drew his gun and glanced around, then a wave of dizziness had washed over her, along with a slight sensation of detachment. Several minutes had passed since then, and Rawn studied the featureless walls with a scowl, hefting his gun.
"Where are we?" Rayne's whisper was a thread of sound in a pit of silence.
Rawn muttered, "Out of the frying pan and in the fire."
"What?"
"I don't know." He released her and went over to the nearest wall, running his hand over its silky smooth surface. "This is weird."
Rayne sank to the floor as shock drained the last of her energy and her stomach knotted. After so much hardship and struggle, she had thought her life was about to return to normal. The confusing and possibly dangerous situation had ousted her joy at finding Rawn. She rubbed hot tears from her stinging eyes as the possible ramifications of this new and inexplicable predicament overwhelmed her. Rawn prowled the room, testing the walls and finding them solid, apparently.
"I don't know where we are, but this isn't the work of the autocrats," he muttered. "They don't have this kind of technology."
"Then who? The aliens?"
Rawn frowned at her. "What aliens?"
Rayne told him about the scarlet saucer, the white-clad man, and the two incidents since then. It sounded bizarre even to her, but Rawn listened with a wrinkled brow. When she finished, he remained tight-lipped, unable to offer any explanation. Telling her tale made their situation seem more threatening, and she wondered if whoever had captured them was listening.
A tense hour dragged by while they waited for something to happen. Rawn pacing the room, then holstered his gun and sat beside her. They relaxed as the vertigo lessened and fatigue set in. Rayne struggled to keep her eyes open, although Rawn told her to sleep. She jerked into nerve-jangling wakefulness when a soft hum and swish broke the tomb-like silence. A section of seamless wall slid back to reveal an alcove with a basin and toilet. After Rawn inspected it, Rayne used it to refresh herself with cool water. As soon as Rawn had used it, the door swished shut again. Moments later, a narrow beam of purple light swept across the cell, making Rayne's skin crawl. Rawn banged on the wall and swore at their unseen captors.
"Any more stunts like that, and I'll shoot a hole in the wall," he promised.
"I don't think you can do much to them."
"We'll see about that."
A few minutes later, just as they relaxed again, another section of the wall slid back to reveal two glasses of clear liquid. Rawn eyed the beverages, lifted a glass and sniffed it.
"Smells like water."
"We had water from the basin," she pointed out. "Unless we weren't supposed to drink that."
"But I think we're supposed to drink this."
"Why?"
He shrugged. "It's probably got medicine in it." He put the glass down. "Whatever it is, I don't want it." He glared around at the walls. "You hear me, you bastards out there? We won't co-operate until we get an explanation. Show yourselves, you cowards! We're not animals, so stop treating us like them!"
Rayne tugged his arm. "Stop it! We don't want to make them mad."
"They're making me mad."
"They might be the ones who helped me."
"Well they're not acting very bloody friendly now."
Another strained silence fell as they waited for a response to Rawn's outburst and their refusal to drink the water. Undoubtedly they were being watched, and Rayne was sure it would only be a matter of time before their captors were forced to communicate with them. The response came sooner than she expected, in the form of a soft masculine voice that spoke in oddly accented English.
"We apologise for the quarantine's necessity. Unfortunately, if you wish to meet us, you must drink the liquid in the glasses."
Rawn yelled back, "Where are we? What do you want?"
"You are aboard a space ship called Vengeance, and we wish you no harm," the disembodied voice said.
"Why have you kidnapped us?"
"That will be explained once you have imbibed the medicine."
"What does it do?" Rawn demanded.
"It is merely to eradicate unwanted bacteria that could be harmful to our health. Your world is, unfortunately, an unhealthy place. Once you have drunk the medicine, you will be released after a set period of time."
"And if we refuse?"
"That is not an option we are prepared to accept. Eventually you will become thirsty and drink the medication. Obstinacy will merely prolong your incarceration."
Rawn glared around at the walls. "I could shoot my way out of here!"
"No. Any attempt to use your weapon will be countered by an increase in tranquilliser gas. I urge you to co-operate."
"I'll bet you do!" Rawn shouted. "But why should I co-operate with you, huh?"
"Because you wish to leave the room," the voice stated.
"But I don't want to be bullied by the likes of you!"
Rayne gripped his arm. "Stop it. Let's just drink the medicine. This is a pointless argument."
"How do we know it isn't poison?" he demanded.
"Why would they bring us here to poison us? They could have killed us any time."
"Maybe they want to use us in some kind of experiment, like damned guinea pigs."
She shook her head. "I don't think so, but what choice do we have? Like he said, they'll just keep us locked in here until we get so thirsty we drink it. Let's rather do it now and get it over with. There's really nothing else we can do."
"You're too damned fatalistic, Ray. I could shoot a hole -"
"No you couldn't, and even if you did, what then? If we're aboard a space ship, there's nowhere to run, is there?"
Rawn let the gun drop to his side, his shoulders slumping. "Guess not, if that's true. But I don't like this. It's all too damned neat and prepared, as if it was planned. I feel like we're in a damned laboratory. And I'll tell you this, if I start to feel sick, I will shoot my way out of here and take a few of those bastards with me."
Rayne glanced up at the walls. "Will the medicine make us sick?"
"No," the voice replied. "Side effects should be minimal. At worst, some cramps and diarrhoea may result."
Rayne picked up a glass and drained it.
He watched her. "What does it taste like?"
She shrugged. "Water."
Rawn drank his, and they settled down to wait again. This time they passed the hours in silence, and Rayne dozed against Rawn's shoulder. They jumped when a door slid open again, revealing a larger bathroom with two shower cubicles. Two sets of grey one-piece clothing were folded on a shelf next a pair of fluffy white towels. Rawn glanced at his sister.
"I suppose the inference is pretty obvious."
"We smell."
"Undoubtedly, but do they have to be so blatant?"
She smiled. "Well, having cleaned out our insides, they have to do the outsides too."
The soft male voice spoke again. "You have already been externally decontaminated. The cleaning facilities are for your comfort. We have tried to simulate your method of washing. We hope you find the facilities adequate."
Rayne gazed at the showers. "It's been a long time since I had a shower, especially a warm one."
Rawn frowned. "Our method of washing? What kind of aliens are these?"
The voice said, "We are what you would call humanoids, similar to you in many respects, but we have various means of washing that would be strange and possibly alarming to you."
"Us primitives, you mean," Rawn snapped.
Rayne poked him. "Will you quit arguing with him? I don't give a fig how they wash. I want a shower."
"He sounds like one of those damned fairy airline stewards. They always bugged me."
"Well, I'm going to have a shower."
He grabbed her arm as she started towards the cubicles. "You seem to be very damned trusting all of a sudden. What if this is just a way to separate us?"
"We can shower together, if you prefer, but I think they can do pretty much what they like with us, and there's really nothing we could do to stop them. They could have knocked us unconscious with their gas if they chose, taken away your gun, stripped and tied us up, but they haven't. If they're going to treat us well, then I, for one, am going to co-operate. They're not autocrats, so let's see what they want before judging them."
His eyes narrowed. "You're being too calm about this."
"It must be the tranquilliser they gave us. There's really no point in being upset, is there?"
"Guess not," he muttered. "You shower first then. I'll stand guard."
"Okay." She headed for the shower cubicles, shedding her clothes.
Tallyn switched off the monitor and sat back, frowning. The girl was perhaps a little more intelligent than her companion. By opting to stand guard, the man had foiled his intention of removing the weapon, but it was not a serious setback. It meant their first encounter would require a stress screen between them to thwart any attempt by the man to take a hostage, until he could be persuaded to give up his weapon. He seemed hostile and potentially dangerous, a trait common amongst human males. It meant Tallyn might have to separate them, and possibly keep the man confined until he co-operated. The first contact mediator was doing a good job. The girl, at least, was responding well to his overtures. He switched on the monitor again.
The girl was in the shower still, and clouds of steam rolled from under the frosted glass door. The man, Rawn, stood outside, his expression bitterly truculent. After a few minutes, the girl emerged wrapped in a towel, and donned the smaller of the two grey outfits, which fitted her well. She rubbed her hair dry, then took the projectile weapon from the man while he went to shower.
When she moved into the main part of the cell, Tallyn decided it was time to act. He jumped up and left the bridge to hurry along the corridor to the hospital. He wanted to speak to the girl before the man re-emerged. When he arrived in the spacious, clean room with its faint odour of antiseptic, the mediator, Egan, rose and saluted. Two doctors, who watched the humans over his shoulder, straightened.
"Relax, Ensign Egan," Tallyn said. "I want to speak to the girl." He turned to the two guards who stood at the hospital's entrance. "You two, set up a stress screen."
The guards brought over a portable screen and placed it in front of the cell's door. It looked like a metal door frame, and was to protect him should the girl try to shoot him. The stress screen's alternating layers of charged air molecules formed a shimmer that would deflect a projectile.
Tallyn waved the guards back when they completed their task, indicating that they should stand to one side, out of sight. Once they were in place, he ordered the nervous ensign to open the door. Egan touched crystals on his console and the cell door slid open with a hiss.
Rayne whipped around, raised the gun and opened her mouth to yell for Rawn. Her shout turned to a gasp as she gaped at the man who filled the doorway. He was almost as tall as Rawn, and well built, but quite alien. His fine brows arched above dark eyes, and his cropped black hair gleamed with blue tints. An aquiline nose jutted over his thin-lipped mouth, but the resemblance to humans ended there. His skin gleamed with a metallic golden shimmer, and his black hair ended in a line just above his ears, where it turned pure white.
His earlobes joined the edge of his jaw. His form-hugging suit of dark blue material had a line of gold that edged his collar and ran down the middle of his chest, separating into two at his waist to continue down the front of his trousers. Gold also trimmed his cuffs and ran up the outside of his sleeves to form swirling patterns on his shoulders.
He smiled without showing his teeth. "Hello. I am Tallyn." He spoke with less of an accent than the disembodied voice had. "I am the commander of this ship."
She nodded, stepping back. "Hi." It sounded pathetic, even to her, and she searched her vacant mind for something more suitable to say. While she did, he spoke again.
"Do not be afraid. I wish you no harm."
Rayne took another step back. "I – I'll call my brother."
"No." He held up a hand. "Please, I wish to speak to you, alone."
"Why?"
"The weapon." He indicated her gun. "Please give it to me."
Rayne looked at it. He did not seem afraid of it, and she did not think she could use it on him anyway. Rawn might, though, but what good would that do? They were at this man's mercy. Shooting him, or trying to, would not improve their situation. The gun was useless, and she let it sink to her side.
She looked at the alien again. "Will you give me your word that you mean us no harm?" Again, it sounded silly, but the alien placed his hand on his chest and smiled.
"I do. We never had any intention of harming you, but if your brother uses that weapon we'll have to restrain him. As you pointed out to him earlier, there is very little you can do to us."
She nodded and stepped towards him, intending to hand over the weapon. He raised his hand again.
"Do not approach the screen."
Rayne stopped, sensing a faint tingle on her skin. So there was a screen between them. He had not trusted her completely. He turned and gestured to someone. The tingle vanished, and the alien stepped into the cell, holding out his hand. With a shiver of trepidation, she handed the. 44 to him. Another man, dressed in a white uniform, appeared behind him and took the weapon when he held it out.
He smiled at her again. "Good. I know you are confused, alarmed, and perhaps a little angry. The tranquilliser will wear off soon. Do you require a further dose?"
"No, I'm fine." She found his alien features fascinating.
His smile broadened. "I see that I intrigue you. That's understandable. I don't mind."
Warmth suffused her cheeks. "You're not human."
"No. I am Atlantean. I come from a planet very far from here. However, as aliens go, I'm not that different from you."
She frowned, realising that she should be asking more intelligent questions. "Why did you kidnap us?"
"Ah. Perhaps we should wait for your brother. It's a long explanation."
She nodded. "You killed the mutants, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"And the store guards?"
His smile, which had become something of a fixture, faded. "No. Your account of the black-clad man interests me. I would like to hear more about it."
"Like what?"
"Was he wearing a mask?"
She shrugged. "He was too far away to see. How do you speak English so well?"
His smile returned. "I have studied your language for this event. Unfortunately, very few Atlanteans speak it, so you'll have to learn our tongue."
A frisson of alarm went through her. "But surely we won't be here long enough to need to, will we?"
"I'm afraid you will. You cannot be returned to Earth."
"Why not?"
"Your planet is dying, as I'm sure you know. Within the next five years your entire race will be wiped out. Surely you don't want to share their fate?"
Rayne glanced around, wishing Rawn would hurry up. "Can't you do something about it?"
His brows rose a fraction. "We're not that powerful, I'm afraid. It's far too late to undo the damage your people have done to the ozone layer and oceans. We can save you and your brother, though."
"What about the rest of the people?"
"No. We didn't come here to rescue humanity."
"So why us?"
Tallyn glanced past her as the sound of water stopped. "You're special. Talk to your brother, and let me know when he's ready to meet me. You'll get a full explanation then."
Tallyn turned and stepped through the door, which hissed shut behind him. She stared at it, then turned as Rawn emerged, rubbing his hair. He took in her pale countenance and strained expression with a glance, his gaze dropping to her empty hands.
"Where's my gun?"
"I gave it to them."
"Are you nuts? Why?"
She shook her head. "It's no good to us. He was very nice about it, and polite. He said they won't hurt us, and I believe him."
"Oh, great! So you just handed it over like a good little girl. Dammit, Rayne, sometimes I think you're an idiot!" He loomed over her, scowling. "Now we have absolutely no defence at all, and that was my gun."
Rawn had always been attached to his gun, and, as their means of survival, it had been important. She met his glare.
"It was useless. They probably have a dozen weapons hidden in this room, any of which could drop you like that…" She snapped her fingers. "…Anytime they choose. And he said they're here to rescue us."
"From what?"
"Earth, what do you think? The planet's dying, we know that. For some reason, he wants to save us."
"Why?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. He said he'd explain it all, as soon as you're calm enough to meet him."
Rawn swung away and flung the damp towel across the room. "Who is this guy, anyway?"
"He's the commander of this ship. His name's Tallyn, and he's an Atlantean."
"As in from Atlantis?"
She glanced at him in surprise. "I never thought of that."
"What is he, green with yellow spots?"
"No. Just weird."
"Great. So what makes him think I'm not calm enough?"
Rayne shot him a smile. "Well, you were making threats about shooting holes in things, and he was listening."
"Yeah, watching too, no doubt. He must have got an eyeful of you in the shower. Well, I don't have a damned gun anymore, so what's the problem?" She looked away in embarrassment, and Rawn smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure you're not his type."
"Can you talk to him calmly and rationally?"
"Sure, why not? We're in deep shit now. We might as well make the best of it."
A few minutes later, the panel that had dispensed the medicated water opened again, this time disgorging a welcome meal. Although some items defied description, Rayne assumed their hosts knew what was good for them and ate it all. It proved to be tasty, and afterwards she relaxed again, the unusual fullness of her stomach improving her mood. Despite Rawn's encouraging words, another hour passed before contact was re-established. The door slid open to reveal the commander once more.
Rawn jumped up, and Rayne rose slowly, watching them. Tallyn sized Rawn up, but gave no sign of tension, while Rawn made the most of his extra height. This did not seem to impress Tallyn, who addressed Rawn in a flat, no-nonsense tone.
"Please remain calm. You are welcome aboard my ship. I will now conduct you to a viewing room, where I will explain your abduction."
"That would be nice," Rawn remarked, but Tallyn turned away to walk through the sparsely furnished room they found beyond the door. It looked like an ultra-modern hospital, with a lot of strange paraphernalia parked against the walls. They followed Tallyn into a passage, glancing around. Rayne slipped her hand into Rawn's, drawing courage from his familiar presence. The corridor's seamless material was smoothly rounded, as if in a giant mould. Mellow light gave it a warm glow, and a carpet of soft grey moss muffled their footsteps. No other people passed them before a door slid open at Tallyn's approach, and they entered another room.
"Please sit."
Tallyn indicated two chairs, which moulded to Rayne’s shape when she sat down, startling her. Tallyn went to a desk that held a huge book, bound in black leather and gold. Opening it to a marked page, he gazed at Rayne, who glanced at Rawn.
Tallyn sat behind the desk. "This is the holy book of my people. In it, all the prophecies of the ancient mystics have been set down, so we may follow their teachings and fulfil the destinies. There is a prophecy that must now come to pass, and I believe you, Rayne, are the one spoken of."
He proceeded to read the paragraph, and Rayne listened in amazement. When he finished, he gazed at her.
Rawn looked at Rayne and snorted. "You think that this… this golden girl child is Rayne?"
Tallyn nodded. "This is a dying planet, one of only a few we've found, and your sister is a young girl with golden hair."
"But that doesn't mean she's the one you're looking for."
"No, but isn't it remarkable that you and she have suffered no ill effects from your planet's radiation and pollution, while all the other people have?"
Rawn shrugged. "We've been lucky, I guess."
"Nobody's that lucky. She's different. You both are, and I can only assume that you're her guardian, which is why you too have been spared. Our task is to rescue the golden girl child, and I think we have done that." He closed the book.
Rayne asked, "Is that why you saved me from the mutants?"
"Of course."
"And those other aliens who attacked me?"
"The ones in the red ship, which you told your brother about? That happened before we found you. They're members of a race called Draycons, whose ships are red. We chased four of their ships away two days ago. But they were not trying to kill you. They're slavers."
She shook her head. "They were trying to kill me. They reduced that house to a pile of rubble."
Tallyn smiled a little thinly. "They were probably trying to flush you out into the open, where they could stun you and capture you. Why would they want to kill you?"
"I don't know, but I was lucky to survive. If it hadn't been for that cellar, I'd be dead." She frowned. "Maybe it had something to do with your prophecy. Perhaps they think I'm this Golden Child too. And if I am, what is it I'm supposed to do?"
Tallyn sighed, his smile fading. "Unfortunately, we don't know that yet. As for the Draycons, they don't even know about the prophecy, as far as we know. It doesn't concern them."
"So you didn't chase them away?"
"No. I'm sure they left of their own accord."
Rawn studied Tallyn. "Why do you look so much like us if you're alien?"
"Your race is the result of genetic engineering carried out on you millennia ago. All human races are descendants of the first people, who were engineered from proto humans native to Earth. Many advanced races are similar because of a far-reaching expansion that carried out a policy of advancement on many of the more primitive species they found. Almost all carbon-based life in the universe has a similar blueprint, but you didn't evolve to your present state on your own."
"Well, that explains the missing link. But if we're descended from people like you, where do you come from?"
Tallyn shrugged. "We have legends. I'll tell you about them some time. But now, I have things to do, and I expect you're tired. Would you like to go to your quarters and rest?"
Rawn glanced at Rayne, who said, "What are you going to do with us?"
Tallyn looked a little pained. "Nothing, really. We'll take you to Atlan, where you'll be treated with the utmost respect and courtesy, given everything you could wish for. A home, a job if you want it, knowledge, entertainment, anything. When the time comes, your purpose will be revealed to you."
"How?"
"We don't know. We only have those few words in the book, but I'm sure you'll know what to do when it happens."
"I'm glad you think so."
Rayne had many more questions, but the ebbing of the tension and anxiety, plus the meal, made her eyelids droop with fatigue. Rawn was running on adrenalin, but, although she knew he could sustain his alertness for several days, she saw no point in subjecting herself to any more rigours. The prospect of a real bed was as seductive as the hot shower had been.
Tallyn guided them along a corridor to a lift, which whisked them down several floors. He stopped before a numbered door that slid open when he pressed a button beside it. They entered a comfortable, sleek room with two sleeping alcoves, tasteful, but sparsely furnished and functional. Tallyn showed them how to switch off the lights and summon an attendant when they woke, then left them to sleep.