《The Miernes War》 1. The air and water alike were filled with the sharp chut-chut-chut of the helicopter¡¯s blades, followed by the loud pops of shooting bullets piercing through the surface of the water. Though she was pulling all the evasive maneuvers she knew, Qellsala also knew that it was only a matter of time. In addition to the helicopter, there were four reinforced boats stringing electrified metal nets enclosing her in an area that was pulling tighter and tighter. She was trapped and she knew it, but she was not going to roll over. She lashed her tail and dove deeper. Perhaps if the nets bumped up over some rocks or tangled in some coral, she could find a small opening to squeeze through. She would get burned, but it was better than the alternative. Qellsala was still cursing herself for getting cornered like this, and she winced as she forced herself into a tight spiralling turn to evade another dart that nearly grazed her. It would take more than one to down her, but she had already taken two and with every dart, her reflexes grew weaker. Adrenaline was burning off the drugs in her system, but it could only do so much. She imagined another dart or two would end the chase. Her ribs pressed painfully against her skin as she dodged another. She was painfully thin and her children were starving, and the food scarcity was what had driven her into shallower, more dangerous waters to hunt. And now, for that choice, she would face the horrors that awaited her people when caught, and her children would starve to death if another predator did not pick them off first. Another sting pierced her side, between two scales, and she winced. Her hand moved quickly, taloned fingers batting the dart away barely a heartbeat after it pricked her, but she could already feel the heaviness in her muscles growing worse. There was no way out along the bottom of the ocean. The nets were weighed down with magnetic lures that drew to each other, separating her from the sand. There was only one way out now, and it was a foolish one. But she was not willing to go limp and allow them to take her from her babies. They still needed her. Jumping the nets would put her in direct range of their guns, but it was the only chance left. So she lashed her fin and rocketed towards the surface. Qellsala rarely ever broke the surface of the water, so the sensation of air against her sensitive scales was jarring enough to make her grit her teeth. But she had good speed and strong height to easily clear the barricade of small boats. Each of the boats carried two humans, and one laughed as he levelled his gun on her. ¡°Fish thinks it¡¯s a bird now.¡± He pulled the trigger and Qellsala¡¯s body spasmed as the dart lodged in her belly. One of the few places on her body not coated in protective scales. A second dart followed immediately after and her muscles seized before she even hit the water on the far side of the barricade. Freedom was at her fingertips, but she could no longer move to claim it and a despairing wail died in her throat with a gurgle. Another pop and a net of cables tangled around her body. Qell felt like it was unnecessary, with every muscle in her body seized and unresponsive. ¡°Agent Tanner reporting in. You would have been impressed by the leap this thing just made, General. Cleared the boats.¡± ¡°Did it get away?¡± the response was staticky, it hurt Qellsala¡¯s ears. ¡°Nah, we pumped it midair, it¡¯s not going anywhere. Looks like a decent specimen. Adult female, with a lot of armour plating. Took five rounds before it went down, and it was a demon to tag.¡± The nose of his gun prodded Qell¡¯s floating form and she winced and tried to muster the strength to growl at him. ¡°A little on the scrawny side, though. Probably what lured it into the shallows.¡± ¡°Good work, agents. Get it loaded and back to the ship. The sedatives won¡¯t last long in its system and in my experience, the more it takes to down them, the faster they burn through it, so don¡¯t linger. I don¡¯t want any delays.¡± ¡°Of course, General; you¡¯ll have a new prize back at the mothership within the hour.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t be late.¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The conversation did not include Qell, but she hated that she was the focus of it, discussed like reporting about a catch or new hunting grounds, not a person who had been attacked unprovoked and cruelly, and was about to be ripped from her home. If she could move, she would have snapped at their hands as two of the humans dragged on the net and hauled her free of the water and into the boat. The metal belly was foreign and unpleasant as it chafed against the exposed skin of her underbelly and the scales that rippled down her tail and upper torso. She instantly despised the sensation, but could offer nothing more than a groan in protest. Some of her dark hair fell and plastered to her face, and her chest heaved as she fought for breath. Her people could breathe air, but she was unused to it and was struggling to adapt. The drugs keeping her paralyzed were not making breathing any easier either. Unlike the fleshy land walkers holding her hostage now, most of Qellsala¡¯s body was covered in scales. Deep red scales that looked almost bloody-black in the deeper waters she typically dwelled in. But up here in the sun, they looked almost crimson. They were also dulled due to the paralysis, but if it wore off, she would show them the proper colours of her scales and also what she was capable of. Though her belly was pale skin, along with her face and the inner grooves of her arms, the rest of her body was protected by the plated armour her scales offered. Her fin was wide and flat, and good for propelling her through the water. A second fin ran in spiked curves down her spine and the back of her tail, and her ears were webbed and protruded from the sides of her head like sensitive satellites that drew sound toward the dark cavities in her skull. Her eyes glowed a piercing green that offered a golden flash in the dark, and her scaled hands ended in sharp talons that could cut through even the thickest of scales or blubber. She was a predator, but now she had been reduced to helpless prey and she loathed it. It was especially insulting that they were ignoring her. They were busy hauling in the netting that had been used to wall her in earlier. Once it was sorted, the boat engines revved noisily and they began motoring through the water, further away from where Qellsala had come and further from her den and her kids. Her heart squeezed with the fear that she would never see them again and that her folly may be their demise. She closed her eyes and slumped with a sigh. At least she was far enough away that so long as they stayed deep, the humans should not be able to find them. A decade ago, Qell knew almost nothing about humans except that there were people who lived on the land and walked on two tails with thick flat fins and swam poorly at best, and that their worlds were better off separate. Now, every miernes knew about the human world. They were uncomfortably familiar with humans, their behaviours, their tools and technology, and their languages. Humans had begun invading their territories, abducting as many mierne as they could. Qell did not know the details of what happened to them once they were taken, but she did know that humans were at war with one another. The two great continents on either side of the sea had been in conflict for a long time, and the mierne were caught up in that fight. Their homes were destroyed by sinking ships and bombs and shrapnel, their food sources were depleted, and their families were captured or culled whenever they encountered human ships. They were being used in the humans¡¯ war somehow, and Qell was likely about to learn how. Whatever they were doing with her people, she would not make it easy for them. Her children had not asked to be birthed into a world determined to hunt them. Qell¡¯s oldest was a rotation into the world before it started. She would not allow their deaths to pass without fighting until her last breath. They would have to kill her. Although, for all she knew, that was exactly what they intended. She could not see the water over the lip of the boat, but she could hear the sloshing water as the boat¡¯s hull sliced through it, and she could imagine the voices of her children calling out to her. ¡°Zazhiri, Colkal, be safe and stay deep,¡± she whistled. Talking was just as broken as her ability to move, but it brought her a small bit of comfort to whisper to them though they would never hear. ¡°I will do all I can to come back to you¡­take care of each other.¡± She could see a monster of a ship looming closer as the humans steered toward it and an icy chill raced down Qellsala¡¯s spine. She had no way of knowing, but something deep in her gut told her that the ship in front of her held all the answers about what happened to any miernes who found themselves tangled up with humanity. She was just the next victim in line and the time before she discovered awful truths she had no wish to learn was rapidly shortening as they drew closer and closer to the vessel that held her fate. Suddenly, the vow she had just made felt highly impossible and her instincts warned her that she was staring down the gullet of a bigger predator than herself. Her future now seemed far more bleak than starving slowly with her children. She squeezed her eyes shut and wished she was back with them now, soothing them with reassurances to distract from their hunger. At least then none of them would be alone. Mierne did not typically cry, especially not above the surface to experience the sensation of water leaking from the eyes, but now a single tear rolled down Qellsala¡¯s cheek. 2. Getting hoisted up onto the ship and dumped onto the deck was nauseating, but being dropped at the feet of a human who oozed power and command was even more distressing. Normally, if presented with a threat or challenger, Qellsala would not balk at a fight, but she had regained minimal muscle control and was plucked from her element and surrounded by foes. Those factors had her gut twisting into knots. The human towering over her nudged her with the toe of their boot and she growled. It took every ounce of effort to force her head up to observe the person. They appeared female, with short brown hair slashed around the jawline and narrowed blue eyes. Qellsala did not know how humans identified their leaders, but this one seemed very much like a leader to her. The shiny rocks on her navy hued jacket reminded Qellsala of how some animals collected gems and shiny object to prove power or worth and she wondered if humans were like that. ¡°So this is our newest recruit,¡± the suspected leader commented. Qellsala hissed in response. If that was what they wanted, they would be sorely disappointed. She would not fight in their war. ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am,¡± one of the other humans agreed. ¡°It¡¯s a bit malnourished, but it put up a hell of a fight, so it should train up nicely.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± The female in front of her squatted down. She had a long, black plastic stick that she used to forcibly lift Qellsala¡¯s chin. Qell jerked her chin away and snarled, then bowed her head and groaned. The effects of the darts were still strong in her system. Finesse movement was not available to her yet. ¡°It has spunk, and I¡¯m glad to see further evidence that the wild population isn¡¯t thriving. Get it taken care of while the sedatives are still in effect. I¡¯ll take a closer evaluation then.¡± As two humans stepped towards her, Qellsala snarled again, but they did not slow. She set her jaw and grimaced, then took a breath and parted her lips to allow a higher lilt to flood her tone. She detested using her song against another sentient being. It was frowned upon, meant only for hunting, and it was only effective on a few individuals at a time and only so long as she maintained focus, which was why she could not use it to escape the barricade earlier. But here, she only needed to stall them long enough to push herself backwards off the edge of the boat. But before more than a note spilled from her lips, the woman in front of her lunged. Qell knew it was the sedatives dulling her reflexes, but she was genuinely surprised by the human¡¯s speed and strength as she grabbed Qellsala by the throat with both hands and hauled her up into the air. She slammed her down against the rails surrounding the ship so that her head was bowed backwards over it. Qell wheezed and her song died as her throat was constricted. ¡°That¡¯s quite enough of that. You creatures are all omniphones, so I know you can understand me. Look down,¡± she commanded. If Qell had been able to move any of her appendages, she would have torn free and ripped the human apart, but she could not move and she could not breathe, so she obeyed and cast her gaze down. Below was a second deck to the ship. If she had succeeded, she would have broken her body in the drop. ¡°Hell of a fall,¡± the human woman sneered. ¡°Now I want you to listen very carefully. Siren song is completely forbidden upon this ship. If you attempt that ever again without explicit command, I¡¯ll cut your tongue out, slit your vocal cords, and fill in that resonating chamber you possess for good measure. You won¡¯t utter so much as a whimper ever again. Not that your song will do you much good regardless, all of my soldiers are armed with special hearing aids that alter the sound of it, rendering that ability completely useless. So no more singing, am I clear?¡± The woman was squeezing harder now and Qell¡¯s vision was clouding over, so she struggled and managed a nod. The woman released her and Qell could not catch herself so she collapsed with a heavy thud and clenched her jaw so they would not hear her cry out as her fin bent wrong. ¡°I¡¯m glad we¡¯ve reached an understanding. Get this creature out of my sight. I don¡¯t want to see it again until it¡¯s been properly processed.¡± The trip down to be ¡®processed¡¯ involved being lifted by two humans while a third yanked on her hair to keep her head angled back away from the hands of their peers, and taken to a den with a shiny perch that she was stretched out on her belly atop of and held down while restraints were cuffed around her wrists and tail. She was starting to get some sensation back in her limbs and with the returning energy, she began to fight more. The restraints held firm, but she made sure that every human in the den knew how high the risks of injury were if they got in range of her teeth. After a close call for one of them, the three backed off and left her lying there. In an effort not to consider how her children would be expecting her back at the den by now, she mulled over the word their leader had used. Omniphone. She understood the implication, but the word felt wrong. Mierne were capable of comprehending all the languages of creatures sentient enough to have one. It was because all languages had a root origin. But she could not speak all languages, only comprehend them. But the humans had known that, had learned too much about her people. How to capture them, how to evade their song, what they were capable of. It was worrying for the future of their offspring as humans grew more and more competent at dwindling their numbers and the prosperity of their territories. Qellsala¡¯s head jerked up sharply as a new human entered the space. This one was another female. She stood tall, with long blonde hair pulled up off her face and hazel eyes. Her hands were covered by clear gloves and she strode forward with a level of confidence that made Qell¡¯s skin crawl and her back fin flare with unease. ¡°Is this the newest acquisistion?¡± ¡°Yes, Dr. Glendor.¡± ¡°And her temperment?¡± ¡°Aggressive, doctor.¡± ¡°It usually is. Well, I¡¯ll give it forty-eight hours after we finish and she¡¯ll mellow.¡± ¡°I dunno, Dr. Glendor, this one¡¯s been particularly fiesty, I would say at least a week.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see. I only need one of you to assist, so¡­Mr. Jents, you stay, the rest of you are dismissed.¡± Qell growled at them as they conversed around her and a few of the humans began to disperse from the den. The mierne told time differently than humans did, but she could grasp the basic concept of what they were talking about. She despised that they knew she could understand them and were so casually talking about taming her spirit in a very short period of time. She could not comprehend how this arrogant, careless species had managed to capture and contain so many of her kinfolk when a single miernes could be a devestating foe in a fair fight. But this was not a fair fight, and all Qellsala could do was show her displeasure and strain against the metal cuffs holding her down. It was a pointless exercise. She was strong, but even at full strength she could not muscle her way through solid metal. Her claws might have been able to cut through given plenty of time and the movement to gain momentum, but they were useless in this situation where she had neither. Out of frustration, she curled her nails against the metal of the surface they had her on, and it produced a horrid screeching sound as her talons carved up tiny metal shreddings. Both humans still left in the room winced along with Qell. She did not appreciate the sound, but she did appreciate that it bothered them too. It was almost enough to contemplate enduring the abuse on her sensitive ears once more. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get this fussy fish tended to before she becomes too much of a handful. Jents, I just need you to control the head. Can you manage?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Jents stepped forward and tangled his fingers in Qell¡¯s hair. She grimaced as he yanked on the tendrils and put his strength into bowing her head by pulling hard on her scalp so that she was pinned against the table. She hissed furiously, but the man just pulled harder. Unless she wanted to scalp herself, she could not pull back. She felt a hand on her spine. ¡°It will hurt less if you don¡¯t fuss. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll make it quick.¡± Qellsala grimaced and turned her head to the side so that her chin was not grinding into the hard metal surface anymore. But it also allowed the man holding her to pull until her cheek was flat and she could not lift her head at all. She watched as the female stretched out a long yellow tendril with black markings on it. She did not know their written language, so the symbols meant nothing to her, but the human dragged the tendril down the length of Qellsala¡¯s body. ¡°One point seven five metres not counting the fin,¡± the doctor reported. ¡°Just over two with it.¡± ¡°Is that on the larger scale for the females?¡± Jents inquired. ¡°It¡¯s slightly above average, yes, but not by much. The males tend to be about one point nine to two metres in length from head to tail tip. The fin adds extra length, but given the variance in fin sizes, we tend to log both measurements separately. She¡¯s an appropriate size for a female. A bit underweight though.¡± Qell winced as the woman jabbed at her ribs. She flared her spinal fin and growled again. Now that she was more in control of her body, she felt the surge of energy as light bled through her scales, igniting them from deep red to the vivid oranges, reds, and yellows of fire. Bright red shot through the veins of her fins and her growl deepened to low in her chest. ¡°Oh! Well that certainly redefines the term firing, now doesn¡¯t it? Yes, you¡¯re very scary, but it will do you no good here, I¡¯m afraid,¡± the woman remarked. Qell hissed. Firing. Was that was humans called it? Her people always called it a plasma light. Something inside of them that lit up when they were angry or scared, made them stand out and appear more intimidating, while flooding their bodies with heightened senses and increased strength for a short time. It was to aid them in a fight or allow them to escape danger. The woman was right that it would not help her now, but it was instinctive. She could no more prevent her plasma from lighting up than she could stop her heart from beating. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. But it should have been no surprise that these people were not warded off by the display. Instead, Dr. Glendor ¨C Qell was pretty sure that is what the other humans had called her ¨C stepped back up beside her with a small gun in her hand. It looked nothing like the dart guns they had used to paralyze her, but she knew that it was intended to do something similar, so she hissed and bucked as best she could as the woman pressed it to the back of her neck, near her shoulders. ¡°Easy,¡± Dr. Glendor muttered. ¡°I suggest that you keep still. You wouldn¡¯t want me to miss and wind up paralyzing you permanently, now would you.¡± Qellsala froze. She was not certain that the human could actually do that, but she was not keen on finding out. Permanent paralysis would make it impossible for her to get back to Zazhiri and Colkal, and that was still her top priority. Regardless of whether it was a bluff or not, Qell¡¯s hesitation was all the woman needed to line up and pull the trigger. A sharp click echoed from the gun and then a brief but sharp pain jabbed at Qellsala¡¯s neck. She snarled again and her tail lashed on instinct at the attack to a vulnerable area. Her scales were normally protection enough, but the prick had come from between two scales, where it was possible to access the vulnerable flesh beneath. ¡°Chip in place,¡± Dr. Glendor announced. ¡°Heart and pulse are elevated, but the readings are coming in fine. Waves are normal. Emotional reading is strong. This one hit a good place in the nerves. Fear, anger. Confusion. I¡¯m not seeing anything abnormal for the situation¡­oh¡­well that¡¯s interesting.¡± ¡°Something amiss, Dr. Glendor?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong, necessarily. Her fire levels¡­the output is only about forty percent at the moment.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little bright to be at less than half?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Dr. Glendor agreed. ¡°It¡¯s not the first I¡¯ve seen, it just means that she has a stronger fire than some of the other sirens. Not the strongest that I¡¯ve seen, though it is a pleasant surprise. I wonder what she looks like at a higher output. For now it¡¯s probably best not to stress her out further, there¡¯s no sense in draining her battery. Let me just check what the last serial number we assigned was¡­one four nine one¡­alright, one four nine two it is.¡± With her head still pinned to one side, Qellsala could not see what the human woman was doing, but she could hear her rummaging through things. When she came back into view, she had yet another gun in hand. This one had a long pointy end and Qell hissed at her again. She was growing weary of humans jabbing at her. For once, the human woman looked unnerved and she could smell the hesitation on her. ¡°You have her, right? Because I really don¡¯t feel like losing a hand today.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got her,¡± Jents agreed. He pulled harder on Qellsala¡¯s hair until a whine slipped past her gritted teeth. Her scalp was burning from being held down this way. The doctor leaned over her and placed a hand on Qellsala¡¯s face, under her chin to crane her head up, and then placed the pointed end of the gun to her neck, just below her ear, where her scales melted away into skin. The gun began to buzz and Qell winced as her neck began to burn everywhere the woman dragged the tip. ¡°Easy,¡± she murmured again. ¡°Stay still. One. Four. Nine. Hey, easy.¡± Qell was straining as best she could now, despite how it yanked at her hair. Whatever they were doing hurt and she wanted away from the terrible burning sensation. Unfortunately, the humans clearly had no intention of allowing her to squirm away, because the man holding her hair tightened his grip and used his free hand to apply pressure to the base of her neck where it met her shoulders, pinning her down so that she could not move her head at all. ¡°Thank you, Jents. Two. Almost done, you¡¯re doing fine. Be good just a little longer and¡­done.¡± Qellsala¡¯s chest was heaving by the time the woman finally pulled the instrument away. Her neck throbbed and she had fallen limp from sheer lack of energy. Fighting the way she was, after the frantic evasive swim and being darted and manhandled, and all the stress had piled onto one another and left her exhausted. ¡°Finally wearing out then, good.¡± The woman pressed a hand down on Qellsala¡¯s back and Qell flinched at the contact. ¡°You¡¯re a proud species, but your pride will do you no good here. You¡¯re just exhausting yourself for nothing and you¡¯re going to need that strength later.¡± Qell huffed and vented air sharply through her gills before sealing them again to create a loud snorting sound. It merely made both humans chuckle. ¡°Yeah, yeah, piss off, I hear you,¡± the female acknowledged. She walked around and bent over so that Qell could look her in the eyes. Qell narrowed hers and curled her lip at the woman. She hated the false smile plastered to the human¡¯s face. Now, after all the forceful handling and the pain, now this woman wanted to be friends? She did not care for falsifiers like this one. ¡°Unfortunately, I can¡¯t do that. I¡¯ve got a job to do and orders to follow, and like it or not, you don¡¯t have a choice but to endure it.¡± Qellsala growled at her again. The implication was not entirely wrong, but that did not mean that she had to just lie back and allow them to abuse her. The woman clucked her tongue. ¡°Do you believe differently? I hate to break it to you, but you¡¯re not going anywhere until we let you down. And in the meantime, if I decide to amputate your fin, what exactly are you going to do to stop it?¡± She struggled not to show it, but icy fear gripped Qell as the threat. She could barely move her tail from the way they had it pinned down. There was little she could do other than make their task less efficient, more messy. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your fin is staying where it is, but I think I¡¯ve made my point, yes? All you can do is struggle, make my job a little harder, but you can¡¯t stop it. So how about a deal? I know your people honour their word, it¡¯s part of that pride of yours. I¡¯m not your enemy. You¡¯ve already identified who is in charge around here, who the target of your aggression is. And you¡¯ll get your chance at a go at her. She¡¯s given every one of you that boards this ship that opportunity. You¡¯re going to want your strength for that. Now this can go one of two ways; we can continue to hold you down and you can struggle all you like and make our jobs a little more difficult, but we will still complete it. Or, you can agree to play nice for the next little while and just let us finish up. I won¡¯t make this any harder on you and you can save your strength for the battle to come.¡± Qell eyed her suspiciously. She was not ready to quit fighting, but she was tired. And she did not know what was in store for her for the rest of this session, but she was not in an ideal position to stop it. She also suspected that their leader would not give a single miernes an opportunity to attack without a strong means of guaranteeing her own safety and Qell did not know what that was. But she was desperate to return to her children and she would fight to the death to get back to them. Whatever tricks they had planned, she would overcome them because she had no other choice. ¡°Well, what¡¯s it going to be? Are you going to play nice?¡± the woman prompted. Qell hesitated. This felt like a trap and she did not care for it. ¡°I promise that no bodily harm will befall you before you leave this room. After, I can¡¯t necessarily promise, but our deal only applies for in here anyway, so you don¡¯t have to uphold your end past that either.¡± Qell sighed once more and then awkwardly nodded her head as best she could. So long as the woman kept her promise, she felt no need to further exacerbate her situation. She would rather bide her time. When the man released his hold on her hair, Qellsala had to resist the urge to lunge at his retreating hand. She had made an agreement and as dishonorable as she found humans to be, she would not stoop to the same. ¡°Good girl,¡± Dr. Glendor praised. Qell growled at her in response. She would not attack them, but that did not mean she would tolerate mockery either. She watched the woman press her lips together, but she did not say anything more. Instead, she placed a hand on Qell¡¯s head and applied just enough pressure to force her to look down at the table. Then she proceeded to rub some sort of slimy liquid through Qell¡¯s hair. At first, it was an unpleasant sensation that made Qellsala squirm, but as the woman worked it into her scalp, Qell began to relax. It actually felt rather good, and in her overexerted state, Qellsala closed her eyes and began to purr softly. ¡°Feels good, huh?¡± the woman asked. Her voice shattered the pleasantry of the situation and Qellsala vented sharply through her gills again. Her purring ceased. ¡°It wasn¡¯t going to last anyway,¡± the woman commented. She had begun gathering Qell¡¯s hair up into one large bunch and Qellsala heard the slicing sound before she felt the tug on her hair slack off. A heartbeat later, the severed locks of her hair fluttered down around her face. They were all so short that they barely fell to her eyes and over her ears. She was so stunned that she faltered instead of reacting, and then she had the woman¡¯s hand against her head again. ¡°Stay very still,¡± the woman ordered. ¡°I don¡¯t want to nick your ears.¡± A noisy buzzing sound filled the space as a chilly metal piece was pressed to Qell¡¯s skull and dragged up. Everywhere it touched, more pieces of hair fell away to flutter to the ground below. True to her warning, the woman moved very carefully around Qellsala¡¯s ears, even cupping them or pushing them out away from the buzzing blade. Qellsala was not sure how to feel through the experience. It was just hair, it would regrow, but she also loathed how content they were with defacing her. Her hands shook with distaste, but she could not bring herself to break the agreement she had bartered. Even if the woman was barely holding up her end. Nearly all of her hair had been peeled away when a shot of pain raced up the back of Qellsala¡¯s head and she hissed with surprise and discomfort. ¡°Oh, did I nick a scale? I did, that was an accident. Let me see¡­it didn¡¯t break, you¡¯re alright,¡± the human decided. Qell grumbled at her and lashed her tailfins. ¡°Stay still,¡± the human reminded. A moment later, she pulled away and the buzzing ceased. Qell slowly released the breath she had been holding. It felt strange to feel the air crawling languidly over the scales that ran up the nape of her neck and over her head, and even where they faded into skin at the crown of her brow felt alien. She did not care for it. ¡°You¡¯re almost done, I promise,¡± the woman vowed. ¡°Jents, if you would?¡± ¡°Got it,¡± the man replied. Qell turned her head to see what he had. His voice had sounded strained and when she saw what he was holding, she thought she understood why. It was metal, with little blinking lights and shiny bits, but it looked almost skeletal. Like a spine, and ribs, if ribs were joined like long, bony fingers. Up near the top, it branched out into curved bits and Qellsala shivered. She did not know what it was, but it looked eerie. She grimaced as the man carried it over and laid the chilly contraption over her back. When he adjusted it, it ran perfectly over the length of her spine and curled around her sides. It hugged around her ribs and waist, and over her shoulders. None of the ribbings touched on her underside, just squeezed in at her form. Then he pulled the final piece into place and it settled up her neck and over her head. Qell shivered at how close two of the pieces came to her eyes as it was pressed over her skull. It rounded her ears, but she could feel a little nub of sorts pressing in against the back of her ear canal on both sides. Whatever it was, she hated it. Once the man backed off, the entire contraption beeped, then hissed and tightened further around her skin. It did not appear to be restricting her movement much, but it was also not going to be possible to pry off without peeling away her scales and flesh with how tightly it was gripping her. ¡°In place, Dr. Glendor,¡± the man reported. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s take a look. Locked on, fully synced¡­that should do it,¡± she agreed. Then she stepped back forward and laid a hand on Qell¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Well¡­it¡¯s over now.¡± There was genuine regret in the human¡¯s tone that made Qell glance up at her. The woman shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Those two words made Qellsala¡¯s insides churn. The woman had not been sorry when she was stabbing into the back of Qell¡¯s neck, or when she was burning into the side of it, or when the man had held her hair so tightly that her scalp still ached. She had not been sorry about balding her either. Compared to all of those, the contraption was uncomfortable, but it was not harming Qell. If that was what made the woman feel remorse¡­Qellsala gulped and tried to hide how her heart had begun to race. What had she just allowed them to put on her? 3 Unease prickled along Qellsala¡¯s spine as she glowered at the woman before her. It appeared that Dr. Glendor had spoken truths about their leader because a crowd had gathered on the deck where Qellsala had been brought and dumped. They were swarming to watch a fight. Qell would be more than happy to give them one. Their leader was staring at her, so Qellsala kept an even glare back. She was not afraid of this woman and she would happily prove it. ¡°Impressive work, Dr. Glendor.¡± ¡°Thank you, General Bandsone.¡± ¡°Did it fire at all?¡± ¡°Yes, but it was only a partial.¡± Qell watched as the doctor stepped forward with a device in her hand that she showed to the leader. ¡°That was a partial? Quite the little powerhouse we dredged up, hmm?¡± This time, the woman spoke directly to Qellsala, who was more than happy to respond with a snarl and a flare of her spinal fin. ¡°I see there¡¯s still some fight left in you. Do you want to leave? Because you can.¡± Though her tone was condescending, Qell¡¯s aggression still faltered for a moment. Of course, she wanted to leave, she had not wanted to be dragged up on the ship in the first place. She eyed the woman suspiciously. There was a catch to that statement. The General grinned back. ¡°All you have to do is win a fight. Shouldn¡¯t be too hard for you, hmm? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve had your fair share of scraps in the ocean. You and I, one on one. If you win, you have the right to kill me if you choose, and no one aboard this vessel will stop you from leaving. Sound fair?¡± It was a trick. Qell knew it was a trick. The woman would not put her life on the line if she did not have some sort of guarantee that she would be fine. And if any miernes had succeeded in the past of winning their freedom, the humans would no longer offer this opportunity or would have corrected whatever went wrong. She was no fool to imagine that they would offer even the slightest opportunity for freedom after the effort it took to haul in a miernes. Besides, they had put an awful lot of work into ¡®processing¡¯ Qellsala in addition to capturing her. It would all be a waste of time if it were easy or possible to win this fight. But Qell had a lot to lose, and her children still needed her. Zazhiri had been learning to hunt, and could maybe make it on her own in better times, but she worried that the two would come looking for her and get caught too. She could not bear the thought of that happening, or of either of them starving because of her folly. She needed to ensure she made it back to them, no matter what. She would fight, and she would hope she could find a way around whatever precautions or tricks they had set up. So she flexed her talons and growled at the woman again, this time, openly baring her fangs. The General grinned back. ¡°Is that a yes?¡± Qellsala snarled and flared her spinal fin. As she did, her plasma light ignited once more, more vibrantly than the last time, and she narrowed her eyes as she felt strength flood her previously exhausted limbs. She would pay for the extra energy later, but for now, she could feel it oozing from every pore of her body. She only needed one good swipe of her claws to end the fight in this state and she was not going to take any chances. The General¡¯s grin only widened. ¡°Pulling out all the stops, huh? I¡¯m flattered. It is an impressive fire too. Come on then, if you want your freedom, I expect you to earn it.¡± Qellsala wasted no time. She had endured enough aboard this human vessel and did not want to leave her kids any longer than she already had. She planted her palms on the deck of the ship and dug her claws in for a better hold before she swung her tail like a bludgeon at the woman¡¯s legs. If she broke them, it would be even better, but at the minimum, she wanted the General off her feet and at her mercy. But the woman was nimble and jumped back just in time for Qell¡¯s swing to miss. ¡°You¡¯re fast. Good, I can use that,¡± the General mocked. Qellsala hissed at her again and spun her tail so that it was under her. She got impressive air by launching herself up and at the woman. It became obvious that the General had been in several skirmishes with a miernes before, because she was completely unphased, and had the strength and speed to keep up enough that she raised both hands and caught Qell around the neck, though the force and Qell¡¯s weight forced her to stumble a little. Qellsala had anticipated that the human leader favoured the controlling position of having someone by the throat, so even as the General squeezed, she wrapped her tail around her leg and heaved. It force the General off balance enough that they both went tumbling to the ground. Qell recovered quickly and lunged so that she was on top of the woman, pinning her down with her fangs bared. She raised a hand with flexed talons ready to gouge the General. She would not kill unless she had to, but she was going to leave the woman with a permanent mark to remember her by if nothing else. But the General still seemed unfazed. ¡°Do it,¡± she urged with a grin. But Qell could not. Her aggression faltered to confusion for a moment as her entire body felt squeezed. Her raised arm shook with her effort to bring it down on her foe, but she could not move. Not her arm, not her tail, none of her muscles would respond to the commands she was giving her body. Rattled, Qell backed off and instantly all the pressure faded. Her arm unfroze and she was able to lower it, her tail lashed and she growled. Without missing a beat, she tried again, and just like before, she was overcome with a pinching sensation. This time, the brace that they had secured to her beeped softly as it tightened and she lost the ability to move again. She did not understand. Even if it was restricting her movement, it did not cover her entire body and should not hinder her tail. But it was. Below her, the General grinned. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± she taunted. ¡°I thought you wanted to fight for your freedom? Here, I¡¯ll show you.¡± The woman pulled her legs up while Qellsala was still frozen, planted the bottoms of her boots against Qell¡¯s chest, and launched her away. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Qellsala hit the ground heavily with a groan and shook herself as she propped herself back up. She could move again now. She stared at one hand and flexed her talons. She did not understand why sometimes she could and sometimes she could not. Her disorientation caused her plasma to fizzle and the bright colouring of her scales darkened to normal once more. The General clucked her tongue. ¡°Are you tapping out? Pity, I thought you would put up more of a fight, but it looks like you¡¯re giving up.¡± Qellsala snarled at her and flared her back fin once again. She was not quitting. But she needed a moment to think, to reorient herself and understand what was going on. She twisted to examine the crowd of human soldiers watching silently at the skirmish. When her gaze fell on Dr. Glendor, Qell¡¯s eyes narrowed to pinpricks. The woman was not watching the fight. Instead, her gaze was trained on the same device she had played with during the processing. It must be a way to control the harness secured to her body. Betrayal enraged Qellsala further and she lunged at a new target. Since the doctor was not paying attention, it was easy to sweep her legs out from under her so that she collapsed to the deck with a cry of shock. Qell wasted no time bringing her armoured limb down on the device that had fallen. It cracked and sparked as it broke into several pieces from the blow. Then she rounded on the doctor, who still wore a pained and startled expression. Although she had been halfway decent to Qellsala by the end, she was still responsible for putting the contraption on her in the first place and Qellsala was furious that she dared interfere with the conflict between her and the General, so she raised her hand to the woman the same way she had to the General moments prior. But once again, her arm froze before she could make contact and Qell¡¯s heart began to hammer in her chest. She had broken the device and incapacitated Dr. Glendor, so why was she still unable to strike? Was there another device? Before she could scan the crowd to check, the General reached them and jabbed a stick into Qellsala¡¯s side that sparked and Qell shrieked at the agonizing burn that spread through her and forced her body to collapse with convulsions. When she recovered, she saw the blistering skin darkening and beginning to peel on the edge of her belly. They had caught her right on the scale line so that damage would be done to the sensitive flesh. General Bandsone grabbed her by the chin and dug her nails into Qellsala¡¯s flesh. ¡°This fight is between the two of us, you were not to go after any of my soldiers. I thought sirens had a bit more honour than to cheat,¡± she hissed. Then she glanced at the broken remains of the device and her grin returned. ¡°Oh¡­did you think the tablet was controlling your brace?¡± She clucked her tongue and shook her head. ¡°You can break every gadget on this ship, but that¡¯s not how it works. Tell you what, I¡¯ll change our arrangement just a little.¡± She grabbed Qell¡¯s hand and angled it so that Qell¡¯s talons were just barely touching her throat. ¡°I¡¯ll release you and every other siren aboard this ship, if you can manage to draw a little blood. Go ahead.¡± Qell¡¯s brows furrowed in concentration. This should not be hard. All she had to do was flex one finger and it would pull a line open on the thin skin of the General¡¯s throat. But no matter how much energy and focus she poured into moving one finger, her body would not open, and the brace continued to squeeze at her. ¡°Back off a moment,¡± the General suggested as she released Qellsala¡¯s hand. It was instantaneous that Qellsala could pull her arm in. She twisted her wrist to stare at her palm and flexed her fingers. She chewed on her lip as she contemplated, then turned and slashed at open air. Her talons whistled through the air with the speed and strength she put in and nothing restricted her movement. Then she eyed the General suspiciously and reached out her hand to touch her. She moved slowly, then quickly, and her hand pressed flat to the General¡¯s arm with no restriction. It had nothing to do with how fast she moved or the position she tried to move from. She did not understand. She sat there for a moment, trying to work out how they were stopping her. She flicked her wrist swiftly and subtly in a way that should have nicked the human¡¯s skin easily, but her wrist locked before she had even moved it a fraction. Qellsala snarled in frustration. ¡°Have you figured it out, yet?¡± the General taunted. Qellsala growled at her and swallowed a lump in her throat. She did not want them to see how her eyes were beginning to water with frustration. None of them should be able to stop her that quickly, human reaction speeds were too slow and their eyesight was not great enough to have seen her hand move just now. She did not understand and she hated it. The General¡¯s smile widened further. ¡°The lovely thing about those braces is that none of us are controlling it. There¡¯s no remote, no one manning the kill switch on your attacks. It all comes from you. You control it. You see, the technology isn¡¯t advanced enough to read your mind, but it is studying your brainwaves. It knows when your motions become aggressive before you do, and then it restricts every major pressure point and nerve cluster in your body and sends a signal to your brain to stop. You have full range of motion so long as your intent is not to harm another soul aboard this vessel.¡± Qellsala¡¯s heart dropped in her chest and she twisted to better examine the brace. If what the General claimed was true, then Qell could not attack at all while it was on. ¡°It can¡¯t be removed, so spare yourself the effort of trying. And there will be no more using your tail like a bludgeon either.¡± Qell pushed away from her for a moment and scanned the crowd. Her throat constricted. She could not attack. They had rendered her ability to defend herself completely incapacitated. Her ears lowered with distress and she pulled her tail closer to her torso on instinct. Even if she could get back in the water¡­if she could not fight, she was no better than prey waiting to be picked off, and what would that mean for Zazhiri and Colkal? Could she even hunt, or would the brace stop her from clamping her jaws on a fish? The General began to laugh. She patted Qellsala on the head and Qell growled, but the sound was halfhearted. They both knew that her aggression was just a bluff now. ¡°I enjoy this moment. All of you sirens have the same reaction upon realizing your helplessness and the expression is priceless. I trust that now you understand your situation. It¡¯s best you forget the meaning of the word freedom, because you¡¯ll never experience it again. But don¡¯t fret, you¡¯ll get a chance to use those claws and teeth of yours again. Your brace will not allow you to harm yourself, any of the other sirens under our control, or anyone else in this navy. But there will still be plenty of targets for you to take out, and you will.¡± Qell hissed at her. She may be helpless to defend herself while aboard the ship, but that did not mean she would obey this human leader, or kill for her. ¡°No, you don¡¯t think so? Well, I guess that will just have to be another lesson that you learn. You belong to me now and you¡¯ll follow orders or you¡¯ll face serious consequences. We have the means to break you, so I suggest you fall in line fast.¡± She reached out and grabbed Qell by the chin, and angled her head for a better look at her still-tender neck. She elevated her voice to address someone out of Qell¡¯s line of sight. ¡°See to it that One-Four-Nine-Two here is added to the mapping rotation first thing tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°But General¡­it¡¯s had no training.¡± The General grinned again and shoved Qellsala¡¯s face away. ¡°I believe that trial by fire is the best way for these beasts to learn. This tussle is over. Get it out of my sight and put it with the others.¡± 4. Qellsala was still reeling from what had happened. For a bit, she failed to react. Not when they dragged her by the fin, or hoisted her up, or tossed her down in a dark den in the belly of the ship, or when they sealed the den shut behind her. What was the point? She could fuss, sure, but they knew they had nothing to fear from her now and she was not sure how to handle that. Never in her life had she felt powerless like this. It was frightening. Qell pushed herself up from where they had dumped her. The ground of the den was stooped down from the entrance that they had sealed off and made the space a shallow basin. It was filled with water, but there was not even enough to cover halfway up the sides of Qellsala¡¯s tail. Her tail was resting flat on the bottom and she grimaced. Mierne needed water. They could survive outside of it for a time but drying out was deadly. Still, she had been pulled from the ocean just long enough ago that her skin and scales drank in the meager amount of moisture available. When she glanced up, Qell¡¯s spirits plummeted further and she shrank back. She knew she was not the only miernes aboard the ship, but there were easily over a hundred pairs of eyes staring at her. Each set belonged to a to a miernes who was equally encased in a skeletal brace, shaved and scrawny. Many bore fresh injuries or the scars of past ones. There were so many of them that there was hardly any room to move without brushing one another. It was not just the abysmal conditions and mistreatment of her people that was unsettling, but the numbers. Mierne were typically quite solitary. Sometimes there were small family or friend groups that stayed together, but it was not uncommon for a miernes to live with alone or with a mate and no one else. They were too territorial most of the time to tolerate the presence of a stranger for long. But here, crammed in like this¡­Qellsala felt ill and her ears flattened with distress as she tucked herself into a defensive curl and watched the others. Another miernes who was curled up near by uncoiled and began to drag himself over. He smelled at least a decade or two older than Qell herself, but even though there was no malice in his scent or anger in his movement, Qellsala still bared her fangs and flared her sail in warning. ¡°Peace,¡± he rumbled in a deep voice that echoed from deep in his chest. ¡°There is no aggression here. Hard to claim territory when there is nowhere to go and little room to move. Not that we could assert over one another anyway, as I am sure you have just recently learned.¡± Qell hissed at the reminder and flexed her fingers again. It should have been reassuring that she would not get attacked, but it was not. Her people were not animals, they were capable of complex thought and reasoning, but she did not enjoy how helpless they had been rendered. ¡°What is your name?¡± the other asked. Qell sized him up before responding. His scales were a dark indigo and his tail and spinal fins were almost jet-black. She wondered what his plasma looked like with colouring so dark, but it did not matter. His gaze was like that of shale rocks in the coastal shelves and he definitely outmatched her in size and weight. Not that they could fight for that to matter, but it made her unease. ¡°Qellsala,¡± she relented finally. He nodded and pressed a hand to his chest before twisting it out in her direction. ¡°Xixnal,¡± he introduced. As he turned his head slightly, she could see the dark black symbols marked into his neck, right on the scaleline, just like they had done to her. There were four symbols, though Qell did not know their meaning, that were encased in a box of the same dark lining. Her hand came unconsciously up to her own neck, which was still swollen and tender, and she hissed. So that was what they had done. Rather than respond further, Qell pressed her lips together and looked away. She had nothing against the male miernes, but she was not interested in making friends. Her only priority was getting back to her children. And she hated staring at the way the brace clung to his body, over his head and the sides of his face. It was a stark reminder of her own enforced limitations. A limitation that she was ready to be rid of. The human leader had declared that the braces could not be removed, but Qellsala did not believe that. Maybe humans were too feeble to remove it by hand or perhaps she had bluffed figuring any miernes would take her word for it when faced with everything else that the brace could do, but Qell was not going to believe it until she tried for herself. She twisted and grabbed one of the curved metal arms of the brace. Before she could begin pulling at it, Xixnal leaned forward and grabbed her arm. Qell glowered at him and her ears lowered in warning. ¡°It is not a good idea,¡± he advised solemnly. She hissed at him and wrenched her arm from his grasp. She did not care for his opinion on the matter. So what if the humans got upset? Why should she care? She was going to tear the brace to pieces and then she was going to do the same to the first human to open the sealed entrance to the den, and any others who got in her way on her way back to the ocean. Then, she was going back to her den and moving her children somewhere safer, deeper, far away from the clutches of human beings. Xixnal frowned, but ultimately shrugged and backed off. ¡°You will learn for yourself.¡± But Qellsala was not listening to him. Instead, she had begun yanking at the brace. At first, she felt the arm shift, and then it and all the other ones tightened as if trying to cling on, so Qell pulled harder. But the harder she pulled, the tighter it squeezed until she felt woozy with the inability to breathe and her bones ached and burned and threatened to snap. Gritting her teeth, she pulled a final time, only for an electric jolt to shoot up her back and cause searing pain behind her eyes. With a cry, Qell collapsed and her body twitched. She tried to pick herself back up, but the brace had frozen her once more. Xixnal clucked his tongue. ¡°It does not come off,¡± he stated. ¡°Many of us have tried removing our own and each other¡¯s. All it does is hurt you and if you refuse to relent, it shocks you and stills you for a while until you have settled. If you still do not give up, it will do it faster. Best you accept it as a part of yourself now.¡± Qell wanted to snarl at him, but her body sagged. The brace still gripped her tightly and she had no doubt that trying again would only repeat the experience. The brace was made of a thin, but strong metal that she would need more time and strength to break than she could muster when it was compressing her ribs and cutting off her ability to breathe. Tears burned in her eyes as it finally eased off and she could pick herself up out of the puddle of water they were all lying in. She hated this. ¡°I cannot stop trying,¡± she whispered. ¡°There has to be a way out of these things and off this ship.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Xixnal shook his head. ¡°Do you think you are the first to try? I have seen several good mierne nearly lose their lives to wrestling with the brace, ones far stronger than you. You will wear it until you die, which will be far sooner than you could normally thrive.¡± ¡°I have to get back,¡± Qell growled. ¡°I must return to my children.¡± She whipped around when another miernes clucked their tongue. This one was another male, scrawnier than Xixnal, with coppery scales and lime fins. Beside him, was a female with charcoal eyes that contrasted hauntingly against her albino scales and translucent fins. ¡°They are dead,¡± the male said. Qell growled at them. ¡°I am going to get back, they are going to live.¡± Then the female shook her head. ¡°I thought so too, once,¡± she agreed. ¡°But it is best to think of them as already dead. They will perish without you and you will never see them again. And if you do¡­well¡­you will wish they were dead. Death is a kinder fate than this. You will understand soon.¡± This time, it was distress that flattened Qellsala¡¯s ears. ¡°You are a mother?¡± The female nodded. ¡°Gingalrin,¡± she introduced. ¡°And I used to be. I had a son. I called him Oscuri, after the darkness of his scales. He was young, only just starting to explore alone in the silt fields just beyond our den. We lived very deep. But there came a time when I heard crying. So many mierne had gone missing from the area that I assumed it was a child lost from their parents. I ordered Oscuri to remain in the nest and not to leave for anything while I went to see.¡± Gingalrin bared her teeth, but her dark gaze glittered with sorrow. ¡°It was a trick, and I never saw him again. He is gone. Just as yours are. Hold them in your heart but cast them from your mind, because there is nothing you can do. It is better that they perish peacefully.¡± Qellsala hissed again. She could not just accept fate and leave them to die alone. The male beside Gingalrin sighed and shook his head. ¡°Leave her be. She will have to learn the hard way. We all do at some point.¡± Gingalrin¡¯s eyes were full of sorrow, but she sighed and nodded before curling back up. The male offered no introduction and followed her lead. She frowned. Her people were solitary, but this sort of behaviour was out of sorts. When she glanced back at Xixnal, he shrugged. ¡°Do not mind them. It is hard to form a connection with new mierne here. Many of the faces you see now will be gone before long. We do not live long here.¡± Then he frowned as a loud beeping noise cut through the silence and many of the mierne shifted. ¡°Duck your head,¡± he advised. ¡°Why?¡± Then he lunged forward and shoved her head down. ¡°Just do it,¡± he growled before a sharp click echoed in the space and then a huge volume of icy water thundered down on them with such force it felt like each drop was a small rock buffeting her. Qell tensed up and bit her lip. From the chaos, she heard one miernes cry out. Then the alarm beeped again and the torrent of water tapered off. Qell gasped as she sat back up and shivered. She could hear most of the water draining away until all that remained was the volume that had been in the basin already. ¡°What was that?¡± Xixnal grimaced and tilted his head up. ¡°It is how they keep us hydrated. It will come again before long. The best thing you can do is hunker down and endure it.¡± Qell shivered again and her heart constricted. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°We are expendable,¡± Xixnal replied. ¡°It is to keep you weak,¡± Gingalrin commented after. ¡°There is not enough water to keep us properly hydrated here, so they dump it from above every so often. It makes it hard to rest, hard to stay warm. It will weaken you, mentally, mostly. You are easier to control then.¡± The acid scald of bile bubbled in Qell¡¯s gut and climbed up her throat as she shuddered. She had known that humans were abducting mierne and that they saw them as monsters and animals, but this¡­this was worse than being utilized in a war. Even Qellsala, who was raised to hunt and kill without hesitation, who was not afraid to fight brutally over territory and food, would never treat another living being like this, not even the smallest fish who swam right into the open mouth of a waiting predator deserved a fate like this one, and she could not fathom how the humans stomached it. This time, when Xixnal placed a hand on her arm, Qell did not shrug him away or growl. She had hit a breaking point and simply did not have the energy. ¡°The first day is always a lot,¡± he acknowledged. ¡°You should try to rest while you can, it will only start to get worse and far more gruelling, and you will need to have your wits about you to avoid an unpleasant demise.¡± Qellsala shivered at the ominous warning. Her gaze drifted back to the sealed gap that had shut them into the space. ¡°How does it open?¡± she inquired. Xixnal coughed. ¡°It does not. Not from the inside anyway, it only opens from the other side, and humans must do it. You are trapped here until they come. The brace will prevent the use of teeth and claws from damaging the walls.¡± That was the final blow Qellsala needed to hear. He had been right about the brace and had shown her no reason to suspect deception, so she knew he was being honest now too. She was tired and she had endured a lot already, and until a human entered the holding space, there was no way out. She could not think properly without a recharge and she would need to come up with some way around the limitations of the brace so that she could get off the ship. With a defeated sigh, Qell curled up into a tight ball and tried to press herself as flat to the floor as she could so that she could submerge more of herself in the water. As a miernes, she did not sleep the way humans and other land-dwelling animals did, but she did rest in a state where she was only partially aware of her surroundings and conscious thought was reduced. She needed to rest now. Before she could get fully settled in, the water around her sloshed and she cracked one eye open to watch Gingalrin pull herself closer. She offered Qellsala a weak smile and coiled up so that their sides were brushing and she could rest her chin on Qell¡¯s side. ¡°I thought you all kept your distance?¡± Gingalrin shrugged. ¡°Many do,¡± she agreed. ¡°But I know the pain you are in and none should be alone through it. Where is your mate? Mine got caught before I did, but I believe on a different ship, for he was never here.¡± Qell¡¯s heart sank further. ¡°There are other boats?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Gingalrin confirmed. ¡°Too many. I do not anticipate I will see my mate again, but what of yours? Are they still out there to care for your young?¡± Qell grimaced. ¡°I have no mate,¡± she admitted. ¡°My children have different fathers¡­I never wanted a mate. They were the only thing I ever wanted.¡± She snuck a glance at Gingalrin, who was staring at her knowingly. There was sorrow glittering in her gaze. ¡°I am sorry, Qellsala.¡± ¡°Qell,¡± she whispered back. She decided that as far as company went, Gingalrin and Xixnal were not so bad. ¡°I tend to go by Qell.¡± Gingalrin hummed in acknowledgement. ¡°You may call me Ging, if you like.¡± Qellsala hummed. ¡°I want to find a way to escape this vessel, Ging. There has to be a way. Humans may have unfair tools at their advantage, but we are not helpless, this should not be allowed to keep happening.¡± Ging sighed. ¡°I do not know. Many have tried in the past. You have not been here long enough to understand. I¡­I cannot bring myself to hope again, it was too painful the first time. But¡­but if you find a viable way¡­I will assist you.¡± That was all Qell could ask for. She could not expect Gingalrin to put herself at risk for a stranger. There was nothing more that needed to be said, so Qell lowered her head down and shifted slightly, trying not to show how nice it felt to have Gingalrin¡¯s warmth against her back. 5. There was no concept of night and day in the basin, but it was a miserable existence for the period of time that Qell endured it. Her rest was broken and draining with so many new scents and bodies and the distress over her situation and her children. It did not help that three more times, water was rained down on them from above. It was cold and the intervals between were no relief either. With so many of them crammed together and so little water to soak in, the room was hot and stagnant and Qell¡¯s breathing grew laboured quickly. At her back, Ging did not seem to be struggling quite as much, but she was getting little rest either. She had just seemed a bit more adjusted to it so that she was not wheezing. Qell was not so fortunate. She was too warm and her throat felt dry enough that each breath burned. She wanted to be deep in the ocean where the water was cool and enveloping, and her children would cuddle up to share warmth while resting. ¡°It gets easier,¡± Ging whispered. Qell had not realized she was awake. ¡°Does it?¡± It took Ging a moment to respond. ¡°No¡­but you will adapt, it will not be as hard to catch your breath. You should lie on your back.¡± ¡°What?¡± Qell could not fathom that. Lying on her back exposed her belly. At least her back was protected by the rigid armour plating, but her underside was less protected and she was not keen on the notion. No miernes would be. ¡°It will not be comfortable on your sails, but it will allow you to submerge your gills. You will feel better. It is not like you will be attacked here.¡± Qellsala supposed that was true. Still, it was unnerving as she twisted herself onto her back and lowered herself down into the water. It stung as her dorsal fins bent awkwardly, but the pain dulled rapidly, and despite her unease, as soon as Qell lowered her neck down into the water, she felt a little better. She could not submerge properly to breathe the water, but she could open her gills enough to soothe the irritation in her throat. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Cover your face,¡± Gingalrin suggested. Qell grimaced as she was reminded of the awful downpour that kept coming from above. It would not be pleasant to catch it in the face, so she draped one arm over her eyes and tried to relax into a deeper state of rest than she had managed thus far. *** Unfortunately, her rest ended far sooner than she would have liked as an awful screech echoed off the surrounding walls. It was followed by light flooding the small space as the entrance opened to reveal two humans. Around her, mierne began to shuffle and sit up and a few bowed their heads, but none spoke. From at her side, Gingalrin sat up and nudged Qell. She placed her hand on Qellsala¡¯s shoulder and pushed her back down to the ground. When she spoke, her voice came in such a low whisper that Qell could barely hear her. ¡°Stay down and tilt your head so that they can see the mark on your neck. Do not speak, not a sound until they leave.¡± Immediately after she finished speaking, Ging pulled away and lowered herself down to the ground as well. Indignation swelled in Qellsala as she watched all the mierne in the room do the same. So many proud, strong people had been reduced to little more than tamed animals and it was sickening. It made her want to rage, but she was exhausted still and did not have a solution to the brace. So, for now, she laid still and observed the situation. One of the two humans stepped down into the water, while the other hovered in the entryway and fiddled with a handheld device. He tapped on it and Qell¡¯s brace beeped loudly before flashing with a bright red light that blinked at an even interval. Hers was not the only one. When she scanned the other mierne with her gaze, she saw several blinking red lights. However, most of the harnesses were not lit up, including Gingalrin¡¯s. Ging was gazing at her with a strange mix of sorrow and pity that confused Qell, but she felt unease settle in her gut as one of the humans approached her and crouched down to examine her neck. The area was still tender, but thankfully he did not touch it. ¡°So, you¡¯re our newest recruit. Not sure why the General wants you today, but it¡¯s best we don¡¯t question her. Brilliant woman. The real question is, are you going to behave and come along or am I going to have to haul you by the tail?¡± Qellsala hissed in frustration and slapped her tailfin on the surface of the water. She favoured neither of those options and openly loathed the notion of obeying any of the humans¡¯ commands, but she also recognized that sitting trapped in this dark, cramped space was not going to help her get a sense of her situation or formulate a plan. The unease etched on Gingalrin¡¯s face and permeating the air from the other meirne was not easing the tension either. But after a moment, Qell reluctantly swallowed her pride and pushed herself up and gestured for the human to lead the way. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. When she finished hauling herself up out of the entryway, a heavy boot came down on Qellsala¡¯s tailfin. It was likely to stop her from bolting, which Qell had been inclined to do, but the pain made her snarl and instinctively whirl on her assailant. Unsurprisingly, the brace seized before she could do anything about the assault, and she was forced to back off with another hiss. The human paid her no mind through any of it, and why would he? She was harmless no matter what he did, there was no need for him to even glance at her, much less care about her aggression level. It once again sent Qell¡¯s heart hammering her chest at the sheer callousness of it all. Being helpless in a situation was one of the worst feelings a miernes could experience, and that was all her people felt here, all the time. No wonder so many of them seemed to have broken wills. The boot on her fin was merely a means of holding her down while the human clipped a tether to the back of her brace. Within heartbeats, Qellsala found herself perched on a low-to-the-ground ledge with the tether secured to it. She was not going anywhere under her own power at the moment, so she hunkered down and stared at her claws, at a loss for what to do. The humans brought out several more mierne, ten of them, including herself, were loaded up onto the ledge, pressed together. Once they were all secured, the ledge lurched into motion, carrying them away from the dark room they had been pulled from. The ledge did not stop moving until they were down on a lower deck of the ship, and Qellsala stared longingly out over the water. There was another human waiting for them there, and she began securing strange, flat panels to the front of each miernes¡¯ brace, just over their chests. When she reached Qell, she grimaced. ¡°I don¡¯t love that you haven¡¯t been tamed or trained, but this is low stakes. Just do your best.¡± The human nodded at her peer, who began unclipping the leads from one miernes at a time. All it took was one gesture to have the newly freed diving over the edge of the boat and into the water through a large gap in the metal rail running the length of the deck. Qell could only stare after them. None of the humans tried to stop the mierne from leaving the boat, but she could not fathom why they would let them go. Sure, the harnesses prevented the miernes wearing it from removing it or attacking, but she saw no reason why any of these mierne would choose to return. It was a trap. It had to be. They would not just set them free. Especially not Qellsala herself, with all the effort they went through the day prior. If freedom could be earned here, she had definitely not accomplished that. So, when they got to her lead, Qell hesitated. Her scales screamed for the water and her heart yearned for her children, but her brain held her back. If this was a trap, she might put her family at risk, so she needed to proceed very cautiously. ¡°Well, well, I¡¯m surprised.¡± A shiver raced up Qellsala¡¯s spine and she glanced over at the new voice. Her gaze narrowed as she watched the General approach with a lazy smirk on her lips and her arms hanging freely at her sides. She knew the reason why, but it still bothered Qell that humans could be so relaxed in the presence of the mierne. Without the brace, Qellsala could have ripped all three of them apart if she needed to, and she could have done it faster than she would need to draw a second breath if necessary. But with the brace, none of that mattered. The General approached and crouched in front of her, her grin growing smug as she did. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have imagined that our newest recruit would hesitate. Not with how reluctant you were to stay on the ship yesterday. Have a change of heart over a good night¡¯s sleep?¡± Qell growled at her and her claws dug into the metal of the mobile ledge she was still perched on. This woman was callous and cruel, and Qell could taste the satisfaction rolling off her. It clogged her gills like rancid fish stink. ¡°Maybe we still have some learning to do. No matter, there¡¯s nothing difficult about this task. All you have to do is get in the water and obey. It¡¯s going to wound your pride, but your pride won¡¯t last long here anyway. You¡¯re all expendable, but I do offer a few rewards to any of you monsters who impress me, so I suggest you fall in line swiftly. Anything less will be met with more misery than necessary, and that¡¯s the only choice you get to make aboard this vessel. So, what¡¯s it going to be?¡± Qell huffed and shifted her weight to stare past the woman. She had no intention of caving to their desires, but longing did swell in her gut at the sight of the ocean. Her skin was tight and screamed for the cool embrace of the salt water. The only thing keeping her grounded to the deck of the boat was the uncertainty of another trick. ¡°I know you want to go,¡± the woman prompted. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Worried about a trap?¡± Qellsala curled her lip at the human leader. ¡°What purpose would laying a trap do? You¡¯ve already been caught and you¡¯ll never taste freedom again. All you have to do is get in the water and swim where we tell you to. Then, you¡¯ll come back when you¡¯re done. There¡¯s hardly anything complex about that or any need for a trap. All you¡¯re doing by lingering is baking in the sun. Or would you rather return to the holding pen and I¡¯ll send another siren in your place.¡± Qellsala had no idea how the human anticipated giving her commands on where to swim once in the water, but she had no intention of following orders anyway. She imagined that there was a way for them to find her in the water, especially with the brace, but that didn¡¯t mean they could force her back onto the boat. She would dive deeper than their nets could reach and move her children someplace deeper and safer, to buy herself some time to get free of the restrictive brace or at least ensure their survival if she could not. And she was no good to her children locked in that little room. She regretted leaving Ging behind, but if she could find a way out of the brace, she could always come back for the other mierne aboard the ship, and she had to put her children first, no matter what. So, without sparing the General another glance, Qellsala launched herself forward off the deck and into the water below. 6. As soon as she hit the water, Qellsala sagged with relief as it soothed the dryness of her skin and scales alike. It was not the same with the brace on, but after a night penned in that awful, stuffy room with barely enough water to go around, Qell could endure the way the brace bit at her skin and prevented the water from seeping over it properly. But her moment of peace did not last and was shattered by a sharp static sound in both ears that made her hiss with discomfort. The static faded and a strange voice began to echo in her head. Go this way, go this way, go this way¡­Over and over, the voice reverberated painfully in Qellsala¡¯s skull and her fin began working, spurring her in the direction it was telling her to go. When she indulged it, the voice grew quieter, but was ever present and rose to a louder pitch again if she veered off course. Qell¡¯s hand shook and her fin pumped hard as the noise spurred her forward. But she refused to allow a human voice in her head to dictate where she went in the water. She needed to return to her children and would not allow this to hinder her. If she focused really hard, she found she could almost tune the voice out. Not fully, but enough that her body did not hasten to obey without her consent. Confident that she had regained control of herself, Qellsala veered away from where the voice was telling her to go and shot off in a new direction, one that would lead her first to food and then back to her den. There was going to be a gruelling journey ahead of them and she refused to force her starving children forward without something to fill their bellies. They would need their strength. As Qellsala swam and made her way further from the ship and the direction it had tried to steer her, the voice in her head got easier and easier to ignore, until she could no longer hear it at all. She paused and listened, but there was only silence. Had she swum out of range? She scoffed. That seemed almost too easy and she would need to keep her guard up, but she was not going to waste any time or thought over the humans until she needed to again. First, it was time to hunt. While she would always be more comfortable in the cooler, darker waters she was born for, the shallows did offer strong hunting and it was not long before she came across a school of large fish. She fell on the back of the school and kept up as their silvery bodies darted into a panic. Her quarry was too slow to keep up with the rest, though, and she dug her talons deep into its gills while her powerful fangs sank through its scales and her tail worked hard to drag it to a halt. The fish flailed weakly a few times before falling still. It was larger than Qell would normally hunt, for it would be tedious to haul back to her den, but she wanted to set her children up as best she could before they left the den. They needed full bellies and this would offer them that. Along the way, she was able to catch two tiny fish that she swallowed whole to help fill the hollow ache in her own gut. Satiated for now, Qellsala pressed forward until her den loomed near and the scents of her children filled her gills. She ducked through the crevice that served as the entrance to her den. Inside, she found Colkal curled up on the sandy bottom with his tail covering his vulnerable middle. His scales were a richer red than Qell¡¯s own, like glimmering rubies, and his eyes were like glittering lumps of coal. Instantly, Qellsala¡¯s heart soared at the sight of him. Of both of them. Zazhiri hovered protectively over her younger brother, her lips curled into a snarl. She had Qell¡¯s eyes, and the bright green irises were darkened with fury. Her deep purple scales flashed in the low light and her spinal fin was flared. She hissed, but the threat faltered in her throat and her eyes widened. ¡°Mama?¡± There were no words to express her relief that they were alright, or her pride in Zazhiri. She had been prepared to fight. Qell swam closer and set her catch down in the sand. ¡°Eat, both of you. Fill your bellies,¡± she urged. ¡°Quickly now.¡± Colkal did not need to be told twice, but Zazhiri was still peering at Qell with suspicion and concern. ¡°Mama, what-¡± ¡°No questions,¡± Qellsala refused, though she kept her tone gentle. ¡°Feed, Zazhiri. Our den is no longer safe and we must flee it.¡± That was all she needed to say. Zazhiri followed her brother¡¯s lead and began to scarf as much as she could from the fish. While they ate, Qell turned and tasted the water. Her heart was hammering. If they had a means of tracking her, they would know that she was lingering here. But there was no scent or sound of boats on the water and her den was deep. Not deep enough, but they would have a hard time getting to them. Barely a heartbeat had passed before she had Colkal¡¯s slender arms around her waist. ¡°I was worried, mama. I thought you were not coming back.¡± Qell placed a hand on his back and stroked her fingers through his soft brown hair lovingly. ¡°Colkal, my love, I will never stop fighting to get back to you both, no matter what. You know that. But there is no time for reunions now. Eat up, we have a long swim ahead of us.¡± By the time she coaxed her youngest back to his meal, Zazhiri had finished and was staring at her expectantly. Qell sighed and gestured, and swam away from Colkal. ¡°Humans did this,¡± Zazhiri murmured. It was not a question, but Qellsala nodded anyway. ¡°Yes.¡± When she examined her daughter¡¯s face, she saw fear cloud Zazhiri¡¯s eyes. ¡°You are not staying with us?¡± This time, it was a question. ¡°It is not safe,¡± Qell agreed. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Zazhiri set her jaw and straightened her spine. ¡°I can do it,¡± she whispered. ¡°Take care of him.¡± Qellsala nodded. That had never been something she had questioned. ¡°Zazhiri, I must ask something cruel of you.¡± In response, Zazhiri lifted her chin, but her fingers were curled into fists and there was a rattling quiver to her fin. She was still so young that Qell hated to be dumping such a heavy burden on her. Qell reached out and pulled her daughter close until their foreheads were pressed together. ¡°I am going to take you and Colkal to the depths. You must stay there, Zazhiri, do you understand? Do not venture into shallower waters for any reason.¡± Grief poured into Zazhiri¡¯s eyes, which darkened and she looked away. ¡°You are asking us to starve¡­asking me to let Colkal starve.¡± ¡°No,¡± Qell refused. She embraced Zazhiri and held her tightly. ¡°I am asking you to stay safe. There are some fates worse than death and nothing is worth the risk of becoming entangled with humans. I have seen what they do to our people and I would wish a peaceful oblivion on you both before I would have either of you see a day with humanity. I am going to take you deep and then I am going to find some help to get this thing off so I can come back to you.¡± Zazhiri wrapped her arms around Qell¡¯s waist and Qell felt the strength sap from her daughter. ¡°Please don¡¯t leave us, mama,¡± she whimpered. Qellsala clenched her jaw and squeezed her daughter close. ¡°Not for long, my love,¡± she whispered. ¡°Hopefully not for long. Oh, Zazzi, this is too heavy a burden to put on you and I would never ask it if there was another choice. It is okay to be scared, but I need you to stay strong, okay? Promise me, no matter what, you and Colkal will stay as deep as possible.¡± A shiver ran through Zazhiri¡¯s body as she squeezed Qellsala tightly. ¡°I promise,¡± she finally murmured, though she didn¡¯t sound any less uncertain. It broke Qell¡¯s heart and her hatred for humans began to boil in her blood. Their war had already forced her family to suffer and starve, now it was forcing them to grow up faster than they should because she couldn¡¯t stay with them as closely as she needed and desired. She could have stayed like that forever, embracing her daughter and overseeing her young son finally get to fill his belly after moons of scraps and hunger. As it was, she barely got a few heartbeats before a piercing static ricocheted through her skull and made her wince. The static faded away after a moment and was replaced with a voice that made Qellsala¡¯s blood run cold. ¡°Well, well, I wonder what¡¯s caught our little runaway¡¯s attention so much that she¡¯d stop for a while?¡± the general¡¯s voice echoed in Qell¡¯s ears, the cold malice in her tone making Qell shudder. ¡°You¡¯re not stupid, so I know this little expedition wasn¡¯t just to curl back up in whatever hidy hole you call a den. Something drove you there¡­offspring, perhaps?¡± Qellsala stiffened, her terror leaking into her veins. They needed to move. She would not let them come for her children, but if they knew where she was and where she was going, then she would be unable to linger with them and help them set up a den or she would be leading the humans right to their new location. ¡°Ah, yup. There it is. The fear, the dismay, the confusion, oh, a little anger, that¡¯s not surprising. Hard to hide anything when your emotions can be read like a book, little siren. I had a feeling you were a mother when you were first brought on the ship. Putting you back in the water today was a test. You disobeyed me.¡± The statement was filled with so much icy anger that for the first time, Qellsala felt like cowering away from the human woman. ¡°I gave you a simple task,¡± she continued. ¡°All you had to do was swim where you were told, map out part of the ocean floor, that¡¯s all. You need to learn to follow orders and maybe some consequences will teach you.¡± For a moment, more static crackled Qellsala¡¯s head, and then a command came. The general¡¯s voice was gone, replaced with the robotic, pulsing voice that had forced Qell to swim before she had been able to fight it off. Kill. Qellsala set her jaw and tried to curl her talons into her own tail. She knew the brace was designed to prevent her from injuring herself, too, and hoped that if her body locked it would be easier to resist the commands. But her claws sank easily under her scales and punctured her flesh. Kill. The voice was louder this time, more insistent. Kill. Her body shook with the effort to resist the commands that felt like they were coming from her own mind. She knew it was a trick, but her body wanted to obey what her brain was telling it, and the voice was louder, stronger this time. She wondered if the general had purposefully weakened it earlier to encourage her to resist the commands. Now, she was genuinely struggling. ¡°Zazzi¡­baby, you need to go.¡± Qell forced the words out past gritted teeth. ¡°Take Colkal and dive deep, now. I¡­I will find you as soon as I can.¡± Kill. ¡°Mama? Are you okay? Why are you not coming with us?¡± Kill. Qell shook her head and clawed at her ears as if it would help banish the awful commands. ¡°Go¡­please,¡± she whispered. ¡°Mama, what¡¯s wrong? Does something hurt?¡± But Qell could barely hear her daughter any longer over the incessant voice echoing in her mind. Kill. Kill. KILL! ¡°Zazzi, get away,¡± Qell begged. She shoved her daughter away from her, but the motions broke her focus just enough that her arm continued moving without her consent, and her curled talons slashed across Zazhiri¡¯s neck, opening deep gouges across the young girl¡¯s gills. Zazhiri cried out and sank in the water with a hand pressed desperately to the torn flaps. She began to wheeze and choke, and the smell of blood filled the water as it poured from her daughter¡¯s injury. Qell wanted to help, felt terror fog her mind further. Zazhiri needed help, she needed it now, without her gills, she would suffocate, drown in the very waters she was meant to thrive in. It was always an unspoken rule among the mierne that no matter how vicious fighting got, no matter the intent to drive away or kill, one never went for the gills, because it was the one injury impossible to survive without remaining at the surface. ¡°Zazzi!¡± Colkal¡¯s voice was full of fear as he darted to his sister¡¯s side and hovered with anxious uncertainty. ¡°Mama, Zazzi¡¯s hurt. Why? What did she do wrong? Mama, help!¡± The sound of her son pleading with her, believing she had lashed out at Zazhiri intentionally, was like having a hand driven into her chest to claw at her heart. She couldn¡¯t protect them, she was a danger to them. She dug her fingers into her head until blood and pain quieted the voice for just a moment. One precious moment of silence and clarity before it came back full force, slamming into her again. She wanted to flee, get away from her children long enough to fight it off, though she knew Zazhiri wouldn¡¯t last that long, wouldn¡¯t make it if she didn¡¯t get a handle on the situation right now. When the command came again, the voice sounded less robotic, more like the general¡¯s, but it was also the loudest, most overwhelming the commands had ever been. Kill. Now. The command was actually painful, so overwhelming in her brain that Qell blacked out.