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Chapter 22
Kelli and Shana had been returned to their cell. Their guards had stripped them of their lobster costumes and now they lay sprawled on the floor, naked and secured by their chains.
Shana rolled over on the sleeping platform and smiled at her friend. "I got us into this and now I think I can see a way out." She thought to her friend. "You heard Gnarff saying that the Ambassador is returning. That's our chance. We need to get out of these chains. Mead has the key. If we can force her to free us, we can reach Taylor and claim asylum from the Federation."
Kelli fingered the steel collar and chain that held her prisoner. "We're thinking the same way. Mead will be back with that medi-bot at some point. There's tape in there we could use to tie her up. There are drugs there too, put her out for hours I would think. Maybe we could get help from Terril, Christa and Nataya. They didn't look too happy with what's gone on with us. I don't think they would take over the ship or anything like that but they might help us to get to Taylor."
"Well sure," Shana came back. "We're all from Sol5 after all, got to stick together haven't we?"
"Sure, enough, lover," thought Kelli, and reached out for her. The two of them fell together in a close embrace as sleep overtook them.
Some time later, in his stateroom, Farrin Gnarff was peering at a scroll that had been passed to him by Shicnan Warrax.
"I know you were interested to see any early results from the emission detector, Your Excellency. It still has difficulty in keeping a clear channel open but we are at least getting some results."
"So, Chief Engineer, you are now able to pick up telepathic emissions?"
"Yes, Excellency. Not reliably, not consistently, but to some extent. We cannot discriminate yet between multiple emitters, for example, and there are often gaps in the recordings."
"And the prototype is positioned in the cell that my two slaves are held in?"
"As you instructed, Excellency. Immediately above their sleep platform, sir. It was where we felt there would be the best chance of intercepting either telepathic conversation or dream emissions."
"Hmmph, good." Gnarff grunted his approval.
Gnarff looked at the transcript that Shicnan Warrax had handed to him. Many of the words were garbled, much had been distorted and the conversation had been broken up by hissing and crackling in the system. Gnarff could see enough to concern him though. "Mead has the key….. there are drugs there too ….. help from Terril, Christa and Nataya …. take over the ship …. all from Sol5."
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