Chapter 14 [Crossfire]

Capricorn 28/2261 17:37

Vix and Ethan forbid me from working. But they didn't say I couldn't check on something. Something that had been in the back of my mind since I spoke to Greflin. The Jareians. So I decided to check and see if his story matched with a story from a Jareian. We had a few locked in the jail cells under the office building, so I headed there first.

I walked through the dim jail block. The guards glanced at me, but I shot them a warning look. The pair recognized me and didn't bother stopping me. I glanced at the cells. Thick metal bars locked away both human and alien prisoners. I continued walking, looking in each cell. All the Jareians I saw either snarled at me or glared. I doubt any of them would talk. Eventually, I found one who looked at me without any malic. Instead, I saw curiosity in his dark eyes. I stopped and stared at him.

"Do you speak Lexian?" I asked. He inclined his tall head. Even locked in a cell, he held himself high.

"Yes." He said. I knelt in front of the cell before sitting down. "I have nothing say."

"I have questions." I held my hands up to show that I was unarmed. He dipped his head and peered at me through the bars.

"You youngling." He noted. I nodded. He settled on the ground, folding his legs under his body. "Ask."

"How did your people come to work with the Legion?"

"We not work."

"Meaning?"

"They see our strength. Our brains. Then they take our younglings. Our cared for. Say if we not fight, they die. If we fail, they die." He explained in harsh English. I frowned at the ground. Just like Greflin said.

"Who do they have to control you?"

"My youngling. Kirika." He answered.

"What is your name?"

"Hiraka."

"You both have Ka at the end."

"It last. Similar to your name at end," he explained. Similar to our last names. They had their own way of doing it. The last syllable was their family name.

"If your cared for were freed, would your people still work with the Legion?" I asked. He waved a hand side to side.

"No." He said it was such finality I believed him. I knew humans did crazy things to protect the people they loved. Why not Jareians.

"Why do the others fight with the Legion?"

"They prefer war." He said. "Lunias trust gods. Higerians because they follow orders."

"How can I get the Higerians on my side?" I asked. He waved his hand side to side.

"I not think you can." He stated. I bit my lip and nodded.

"Thank you, Hiraka." I stood and bowed my head. He dipped his own head in a low bow. "I will do my best to find Kirika. I promise."

"Thank you, youngling." He stood, rising to his full height.

"Storm." I corrected. "My name is NightStorm."

"Thank you, NitStorm." He tried. I smiled and nodded before heading away. The facts, everything I knew, swirled in my mind, contradicting what I was raised on. What was true? Do I believe Greflin and Hiraka? Do I listen to the Master? I didn't know yet.