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Igata’s droids approached and snapped gray ankle bracelets around their legs before removing the nets and hauling them to their feet.
“Couldn’t stay out of trouble, could you?” Igata asked Maliek as if he was a wayward child. “And drew others into it.”
Fejan bristled between two droids and glared at Igata. “He didn’t have to convince us to join him. I was happy to help. What you’re doing is wrong.”
Jana turned his pleas back to the Oomael commander. “We have done nothing wrong. We just want our freedom. Don’t let them take us.”
“I have no choice.” The commander didn’t meet their eyes. “We can’t risk a war with the BJC.”
Frustrated that they’d made it this far, only to be betrayed, Maliek eyed Fejan. “Are you the only good Bazij?”
She lowered her eyes to the ground, not answering.
“I tried to take it easy on you, Maliek, but you’ve forced my hand.” Igata shook her head.
The spaceport dissolved. They now stood in a huge covum room. It looked a lot like the one Maliek had been imprisoned in, with bronze, egg-like covums large enough to hold a full-grown adult filling every level as high and low as he could see.
Igata led them to an elevator. They traveled upward several levels past hundreds of covums, before exiting and making their way around to a single one. Along the way, a new droid joined them at Igata’s side.
“Initiate erasure protocol,” Igata said.
The new droid raised one of its fingers from which a long needle emerged. As it stepped over to the covum, the lid turned clear, revealing Jana’s unconscious body inside.
Were they back in the real world? Except they couldn’t be. Otherwise, Jana would be in his body, not staring at it inside the covum. So, they were somehow viewing the real world.
“What are you doing to me?” Jana struggled to free himself, his voice rising in pitch. He fought and kicked, but the two droids controlled him.
Maliek wanted to look away, but he couldn’t. His stomach turned acidic and cold as the new droid inserted the needle into Jana’s covum. A murky white liquid filled the area around Jana’s body.
“What are they doing to him?” Maliek shouted at Igata. He struggled to free himself, desperate to get to Jana’s covum and break it open to free the Azzaro. The droids tightened their grips on his arms until it hurt and he relented.
Within seconds Jana stopped struggling. He doubled over, moaning.
“Leave him alone.” Fejan’s horns had paled to almost no color. “How could you do this?”
“Please,” Jana begged one time before disappearing.
Maliek reached a hand for where his friend had been a moment before. Only Jana’s comatose body inside the covum remained. Was Jana dead?
“We have no choice,” Igata said in a tone of sympathy.
“Yes, you do!” Maliek screamed at her because it was the only thing he could do. “Just because we live outside the sims doesn’t mean we pose a threat to your safety. You have no right to imprison us.”
Igata shook her head. “It’s not about that.”
“What is it then?” Fejan asked, eyes still locked on the spot where Jana disappeared.
“We are dying out,” Igata said. “We’re trying to save our people.”