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“Write? Interstellar communications are forbidden to prisoners. Too complex to manage and in the past, some have used it to stir up trouble with secret messages to insurgents.”
“I could use something old-fashioned, like pen and paper. Do you ever send transporters to Earth, even without prisoners?”
“Yes. Troop movements from here include Earth. The next is due to leave soon. Pen and paper?”
She yawned before speaking. “I suppose they don’t exist here.”
“I’ll speak to our provisions officer. He’s remarkably inventive when it comes to supplies.”
Her eyelids drooped. She wondered if he would stay with her, or leave her alone to sleep. But before she could inquire, she drifted off.
Chapter Thirteen
In the morning, after Marco had left, Freya expected a frosty reception from Gellis. The maid appeared on schedule to perform the morning’s rituals and routines, and showed no evidence of what must be a sore bottom. Freya moved a little stiffly, but otherwise without discomfort.
Gellis said nothing about the stripes on Freya’s ass. As she brushed out the knots in Freya’s hair, the maid tut-tutted and muttered under her breath.
Freya reached behind and stilled Gellis’s hand in mid-stroke of her long locks. “Please. I’m sorry. I should never have put you in such an awkward—”
“I knew exactly what I was doing, Freya.” She continued to brush. “I don’t harbor any hard feelings toward you. I may have got a little carried away with that fool Puto, but he exaggerated what happened to the governor.”
“I owe you, Gellis. You took such a caning,” Freya fretted.
“I’ve had them before and what you did to help Lucilla—”
Her shoulders stiffened. “You know about that? Who told you?”
“Nobody. I worked it out myself. She’s not a rebel or a criminal, what keeps her here is something different. I wasn’t the least bit surprised you went looking for answers. It’s what you do.” She lay the brush down and lifted one of Freya’s hands, inspecting the fingernails. “Have you chewed these?” She frowned.
“A little, yesterday, in the cell.” Freya’s childhood habit often reemerged in times of stress.
Gellis picked up a nail file.
Freya watched as Gellis reshaped the nails. “You don’t think I did wrong, spying?”
The maid chuckled. “Do you think you’re the only one with an interesting past? I commanded a team of rebels on my own planet. I realized what you were up to, making an excuse to go to his office. It was a good try, very brave. It’s been the most excitement I’ve had in a long time.” Gellis glanced up and grinned.
Freya relaxed back into her chair. “You were a rebel leader?”
“A long time ago. I arrived here fired up, ready to make more trouble, but instead of fighting the Vendu, we prisoners just fight amongst ourselves. I switched between factions, hoping one would be better than the other. Then, one day, I gave up. I became the perfect prisoner, trusted and given this job. I nearly turned it down.” She paused in her filing.
“Why? It has to be better?”
“It meant leaving my friends behind. One in particular. That was three years ago. I suspect he’s forgotten me. I thought I would hate it here, but I don’t. I’d also hoped he might be given work up here too, like maintaining the parks, cooking… but it didn’t happen. I’m not sure if he’s even alive. There,” She admired her handiwork. “No more chewing.”
Freya smiled, but the edges of her lips twitched. Gellis had recounted a sad tale. She suspected that Gellis referred to her lover. “Was he from the same planet as you?”
“No. Another. But, we’re all so similar, it doesn’t matter.”
“Are we? I mean the same. The Vendu seem to like to differentiate us.”
Gellis shrugged. “That is to their advantage. A divided enemy? The Vendu won’t be in power for ever.”
Freya rose and slipped into the robe that Gellis held out. “Why?” To her, they seemed indestructible.
“They are a dying race. Their exhausted planet is on the brink of disaster. They seek this idyllic new home world that will give them everything that Halos once had. These colonies are a desperate means to control their empire. One day, it will crumble. Did you ever have empires on your world? On Earth?”
“Yes,” Freya could name many. “They all collapsed.”
