Tessa’s POV:

  The sound of strange voices woke me. My body ached and I remained motionless, trying to figure out where I was and what was going on. My ear tufts twitched at the unusual words and accent. It was a language I had never heard before, yet could understand it perfectly due to the Blood Memories.

  “We’re almost there. Is there any sign of pursuit?”

  A creaky voice replied, “Negative. Two were almost caught, but self-destructed in time to avoid capture. Some are luring the fighters away.”

  “Tessa...” Mom called longingly, as if not expecting a response. There was a pause as shock rolled down the mindlink. “Tessa! You’re awake! Are you alright? Where are you?”

  “I just woke up. What happened?” I asked anxiously, blinking bleary eyes as I tried to see my surroundings. My memories were a bit foggy.

  “Can you show me where you are?”

  Moving slowly to avoid notice, I turned my head to get a better look at the tiny shuttle that was barely big enough for the two white-skinned aliens—Votaks—facing the controls. Peeking over my shoulder, I confirmed I was in the back, stuck inside a small cage made from metal bars.

  Trembling, I shared the images with Mom. “Where am I? Where’s Soranto?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to figure out. There were dozens of ships, and they had some sort of new cloaking device. Some are clearly acting as decoys, but most slipped away. Are you able to see outside?”

  There were no side windows, but if I pushed my head against the top bars and peered between the two aliens, I could see a glimpse of inky blackness out the front window.

  I sent her that image. “One of them said we were almost ‘there’, but I don’t know where they’re going. They don’t see anyone following.”

  “Are you hurt?”

  After a quick check, I replied, “Just sore. My head hurts, and I have a few cracked scales.” My wings hadn’t been broken or injured during all of my tumbling, which was a small miracle, although I could certainly feel a few strained muscles.

  Her relief was almost a physical force. “Taureen is asking if you can send him a mindlink of what the controls look like.”

  “I can’t see them.” I re-sent the image of the back of the seats and the two aliens towering over me, including Taureen in the mindlink this time.

  The cage was barely big enough to stand in, and it was triggering some unpleasant Blood Memories about the scientists in the lab. I was just as trapped as they had been, and the Votaks didn’t have a flattering reputation. There was a metal panel on the cage where the latch likely was, but despite how much I wanted to open it, I kept my hands and head inside. Even if I got out, they’d easily catch me. I’d have to wait until they weren’t in sight.

  I curled up and rested my chin on my hands, hoping the aches would go away. Mom kept the mindlink open with trickles of emotion and let me rest. I was grateful for the mindlink—it made me feel less alone. Along the edges, I could feel Dad and Dirk sending wordless love and support.

  “Bay doors are opening.”

  Lifting my head as high as I could, I managed to make out a cratered grey surface and a rather dark hole. I sent the image to Mom, Dad, Dirk, Taureen, and Aeria.

  My eyes widened as the hole took over more and more of the window. Then we plunged into darkness; the dim illumination from the control panel faintly silhouetted the two Votaks. Dim yellow lights appeared outside as the shuttle landed.

  They opened the side doors, and one reached into the back. As he picked up the cage and pulled it out, I pinning my ear tufts back and hissed. He shook the cage slightly, making me fall as my claws skidded across the slippery bottom. I backed up against the rear wall while growling at him.

  Something flew out of the shuttle and landed on his shoulder. It vaguely looked like a blue macaw from the Aralias Gardens, but it had two tiny arms that were a smaller version of its feet. Its feathery tail was long like a lizard’s and ended in a tuft.

  “There was nothing like that on Earth before,” the parrot-lizard thing said in the creaky voice I’d heard earlier.

  “I don’t recognize it either. Perhaps it’s one of the chimeras. We’ll find out more when we get to the lab. At least we got something out of this setback. I didn’t plan on returning here until we built our base on Tohr.”

  A growl shook my chest. I wasn’t sure exactly what these three were up to, but I wanted no part of it. They walked down a network of narrow, poorly lit corridors. The one carrying my cage went into a room as the other Votak kept going.

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  Unceremoniously, he plunked my cage on a counter. One wall was filled with numerous screens, buttons, controls, and things I couldn’t identify. Opening a drawer, he grabbed a tiny pair of pliers and a tool with a small suction cup on the end.

  When he approached the cage, I snarled at him and pinned my ear tufts back. My fear and anger flowed through the open mindlink, and I could feel my family’s rage. My growing panic interfered with my concentration, and without most of my attention holding the mindlink open, it closed.

  In a desperate attempt to stop the Votak, I exhaled hard—but no flames appeared. He placed the tools beside my cage and grabbed something that resembled a potato masher. It folded and slid between the bars before flaring out and pushing me against the back of the cage.

  I shrieked and struggled as he pinned me against the bars. My already-sore joints ached with the pressure. He grabbed the pliers first, and I screeched when I felt the sharp pain of a scale being yanked. After he plucked three scales, he set the pliers down and picked up the suction cup tool.

  My attempts to squirm free only resulted in him adding more pressure. My chest hurt, and it was difficult to breathe. The suction cup tool pressed against my upper flank and another sharp pain made me hiss and struggle.

  After too many seconds, he removed the suction cup. To my immense relief, he also took the pinning tool away as well. I hissed at him again, although it was rather breathless. If he took any notice, I couldn’t tell. The parrot-lizard creature clacked his beak in amusement.

  “Feisty, isn’t it, Claas?” the parrot commented.

  “It’ll get over it,” the Votak said in a bored tone. “Can you start the secondary analyzers while I prepare this?”

  “Sure thing.” The parrot picked up my scales and flew over to one of the control panels. It landed on a perch and began putting them into different parts of the machine.

  Belatedly, I sent reassurance through the mindlink so my family knew I was still alive. I really wanted to get out of here. The bars weren’t wide enough for my head to fit through to see what kind of handle was on the other side of the metal plate. Neither of my captors were looking in my direction, so I reached my hand through the gap and felt around for a latch.

  The surface was smooth without any indentations, buttons, or handles. I pulled my hand back before I got caught. Turning around in the cramped space, I leaned against the bars, subtly testing if any were loose. Nothing shifted or even creaked.

  My worry bubbled up almost uncontrollably. I wasn’t sure if I could get out, and that was saying something since Taureen and Aeria had introduced us to almost any handle or latch they could locate. I mindlinked Mom, Dad, Taureen, and Aeria with images of the back of the plate and what I had felt.

  After a few seconds, Mom replied, “Taureen thinks it’s a pressure lock. You won’t be strong enough to open it.”

  “What else can I try?”

  “Unfortunately, not much, especially with them in the same room. We’re looking for you, so don’t give up! In the meantime, try not to make them too angry. Votaks aren’t known for their patience and can be quick to lash out.”

  “Is Soranto okay?”

  “We know he survived, but we haven’t found him. His wrist comm was damaged, but it’s still intermittently sending his heart rate, so they’re trying to track it.”

  My ear tufts lowered in worry. “Was he captured like me?”

  “Very likely,” Mom reluctantly replied. “Although he’s still wearing his wrist comm, which they would have taken away, so it’s hard to say.”

  I hesitated, then asked, “Should I mindlink him?”

  Mom was silent for a moment before replying, “I don’t think so. He has no way of knowing if it’s really you, and if he was caught, he might think it’s some Votak trick. He also has no way to reply.”

  I whined faintly, but knew she was right. Mindlinking him wouldn’t accomplish anything at this point. I really hoped he was okay, wherever he might be. Hopefully he wasn’t trapped in a cage like I was.

  I hadn’t seen any other Votaks since arriving, but more could be around. There might also be more than just Votaks in this place though.

  With an uneasy glance at the bird working on the machines, I asked Mom and Dad, “What is the parrot thing? My Blood Memories aren’t showing anything.”

  Mom replied, “I shared an image with Taureen, and he’s never heard of an intelligent feathered race capable of actually flying. It’s a big universe though; he’s searching, but he hasn’t found anything yet. Aeria is with Adeline, but Keegan said she shook her head.”

  I tried to stretch my muscles, but there was barely enough room for me to even turn around, let alone spread my wings in the rectangular cage. No food or water were present, which concerned me. My throat was dry and made me want to cough. I didn’t remember ever being this hungry before.

  “How long has it been?” I asked Mom.

  “About half a day. The sun is almost ready to set.”

  No wonder I was so hungry. I began digging at one corner, letting my claws screech against the metal. The Votak looked back with a faint scowl.

  “Apus, when you finish, get it some water.”

  “Sure. Almost done. What are you going to do with it? That cage will be a mess in a few days.”

  “That depends on what the results show. I’m not going to waste my time on a common animal. Although I am curious about its ability to track crawlers by scent. We might have to keep it for genetic samples. Did Gher successfully bring the crawler here?”

  My blood ran cold at the thought of being kept for “genetic samples”. It worried me much more than a crawler being in the same area.

  Apus flew over to a different perch and touched the screen. “Yes. It’s stored in the containment room. Twenty-one of your team managed to make it here. Two are luring the Kymari away. The rest self-destructed when they were caught.” He glided to the counter and began sifting through a box.

  I relayed the conversation to the others. The sound of running water caught my attention as Apus filled the water bottle and twisted a narrow bowl onto the end.

  He flew over and wedged the bowl between the bars as he fastened the bottle to the cage bars. Water filled the bowl, and I buried my muzzle into the narrow container. The water tasted stale and heavy, but I was too thirsty to care.

  Three large minnows were tossed beside me. My stomach growled loudly at the sight of food; I hesitated for a moment, then chomped them down like I was starving—which my stomach thought I was. The fishy taste wasn’t something I liked, but most of the dragonets in the park occasionally ate fish. Curling up as best I could on the cold metal floor, I warily watched the duo as they worked.