Andros sighed as he looked around his cell. By his estimation, he had been here for more than a week after his medical examination and the conversation with the ship Commander. That had been an enlightening experience all on its own. He still didn’t understand how someone could invade his home, capture his people, and yet claim that he was the one that had committed a crime.

The entire experience had been wrapped in a weak justification that what the Empire was doing was for his people’s good. The audacity of these invaders knew no bounds. A part of him realized that his world was fighting an untenable battle against creatures that had no soul or morality, but at least it was their war to wage. Being scooped from the sky and captured by an invader took some of the honor out of the struggle.

His entire paradigm for how he viewed the world had been shaken. Fighting and raiding demons wasn’t a trial set by his gods, it was a scientific experiment gone wrong. The realization of just how small and isolated his world was made him feel weak and insignificant.

Despite that, I killed one of their warriors. They weren’t expecting that.

That was the truth, there was no reason for him to have been interrogated and tested unless he had done something they never would’ve expected. He could capitalize on that. For all of the Empire’s superior technology, they were still just human.

His new connection to the Intranet had helped dispel the myths of the invaders that had captured them. He had a wealth of information at his fingertips. Sure, it wasn’t as much as he would’ve liked. He could tell that there were hard limits to the amount of access they gave him. However, being able to speak their language and get helpful information regarding the words they used or the surroundings he was in, was a valuable weapon that he planned to use against them.

Over the last week, he had carefully plied his captors with seemingly random questions. They likely thought him an idiot. In fact, he had been collecting pieces of intelligence over time and comparing them against the Intranet’s vast library of information.

What he had discovered was chilling in its implication. His small village wasn’t even the total amount of forces that the Empire had on this one ship. Not mention the fleets of ships they controlled or the number of planets they had colonized back in the Sol system. The scale of such an Empire was hard for him to grasp so he had to settle for looking at the smaller picture.

His immediate goal was to get an update on his people. It should’ve been the easiest thing to learn, but his captors were surprisingly tight-lipped when it came to who the Empire had dubbed as Hodians. Andros didn’t care for the name, but he wasn’t going to get into a fight with a galactic superpower over semantics.

He had been separated from his people, tested by the medical staff on multiple occasions, and then left to rot in a cell small enough that if he reached out his arms, he could touch both walls. The only positive change had been the clothes they gave him. He now wore a bright orange garment that covered his entire body. Except for the color, it resembled the same protection he had seen on the Imperial Guards that had dropped into his planet.

Andros had to admit that it was the most comfortable thing he had ever worn. Despite it being skintight, it wasn’t restrictive. In fact, there were times where he felt like he wasn’t wearing anything at all. His intranet connection had helpfully informed him that it was called a biosuit and he didn’t need the connection to tell him that it regulated his temperature by increasing or decreasing its insulating properties.

Although he knew that he was in way over his head, he couldn’t suppress the sheet excitement at discovering something new. It was the same trait that had made him want to be an explorer and a raider rather than settling down on an outlying island and ruling at his king’s behest. Despite his circumstances and the unknown status of his family, he felt…excited. No, he knew it was more than excitement. He felt alive in a way he had never felt before. He felt like he belonged in this place of space and technology. It spoke to some instinct deep inside him that had been suppressed by his subsistence lifestyle and relative poverty.

The forcefield that took the place of a door to his cell abruptly disengaged with a whooshing sound. He was torn from his thoughts and adrenaline flooded his body. Two of the Guard were outside his cell.

[Let’s go Hodian]

Andros hopped off the small cot he had been sitting on and rose to his feet. No matter how many times he had heard his captors speak directly into his mind, he would never get over the novelty. It had explained so many things about the way the Empire had coordinated their assault on his people. He held his hands out forward, and the first Guardsman slipped a pair of manacles over his wrist. The man tapped a button on the Omni-tool on his wrist, and the shackled slammed together and locked magnetically.

A week ago, Andros wouldn’t have understood a fraction of the things he knew now. He spent most of his considerable time imprisoned using the intranet to learn more about the world around him. He had drunk from the well of information like a man in the desert dying from thirst. He knew it wasn’t enough, it wasn’t nearly enough, but every scrap they fed him was a potential weapon that he could turn against them. They would be fools to underestimate him.

[Where are we going?] he subvocalized back to the guard.

The guard in question snapped his head toward Andros, and the Hodian couldn’t help but smile slyly. That was another trick he had picked up. This was his first chance to use it, and he was pleased with the result. The strange thing about communicating over the intranet was that language was no longer a barrier. He didn’t need to sound slow and halting. Instead, his meaning and connotation were transferred through the intranet faster than thought. It was truly a wonderful way to communicate.

Andros was already thinking of the various ways that it could be used in battle. His only concern was the security of the method of communication. If one whispered, they could be reasonably assured that they wouldn’t be overheard. He didn’t know what the equivalent was when speaking mind to mind. It was logical to assume that they had a way of overhearing them.

[We’re going to see Commander Varus, she had orders for you.]

Andros frowned as he allowed his guards to escort him away from his cell. Orders implied that the Commander considered him one of her subjects. He had never agreed to such a proposal. In his heart, he still held fealty to his home, his family, and his king. The Hodians had neither asked for the Empire’s help nor had they wanted it. It was an example of the Empire’s disregard for the individual and a focus on the collective. It wasn’t a burden that Andros enjoyed.

To distract himself, Andros spent the journey trying to ascertain the ranks and functions of the various people scurrying about the Expedition. There were analogs to his bluewater ship. For example, he was a lokha back in his world. He had discovered that the rank was an ancient earth derivative. It was equivalent to a small “c” captain of a starship. In the Empire, the Expedition was helmed by a Commander. Same concept, vastly different scale.

The difference came when referring to ground forces. In Andros’ experience, being in command of a vessel or being in command of a group of warriors required the same rank. In the Empire, those things were different.

The guards that escorted him were a Corporal and a Trooper. The one that had spoken to him was the corporal, while the other had remained silent. Andros assumed that he was a brand new warrior and hadn’t had the time or experience to advance to a more prestigious role.

Individuals he passed in the hall, where an ever larger variety of rank. Some were Spacers, he saw a few Specialists, a couple of Petty Officers, and one Chief Petty Officer. The ranks themselves meant little to him, but his intranet provided helpful details of where they sat in the larger Imperial hierarchy.

There were also strange irregularities in the structure. For example, the doctor that had tested him was also a Commander, but it clearly held less power and prestige than Commander Varus. They shared the same rank, but their responsibilities were vastly different and the doctor deferred to the Commander of the ship. He supposed it made a certain sense. If a healer from his town had come with him on a raid, then they would naturally defer to his leadership. What was strange is why the doctor had any military rank at all.

He let his musings dissipate as they arrived at a set of double doors that he had never seen before. It was new to him because not only did it have the sliding metal doors that were common throughout the ship, it also had an energy field on the top of it. The only time he had seen those kinds of shields was on his cell in the brig. He assumed it was a secondary layer of protection, and that meant that he had arrived somewhere important.

After a few moments, the shield deactivated and the doors slid open. As he followed his guards in, he found himself in a large chamber. There were desks and screens made of light on top of them ringing the room. Each of the desks was manned by different Imperial personnel and they were intent on their tasks. On the edge of the wall, a single massive screen took up the front half of the room. Had this been a structure on his planet, he would have taken it to be a window, it showed the blackness of space beyond what he assumed was the ship. In the distance, he could see a massive metallic ring that had to have easily been the largest thing he had ever seen.

In the middle of the room, sitting on a metallic looking throne, Commander Varus sat and tapped away at another tablet of light. When Andros and his guards neared, her chair swiveled until it faced him. The Commander looked like she was excited. Her face was calm and professional, but there was a tension in her body that Andros recognized. It was a departure from the almost bored and apathetic persona she had displayed in their prior meeting. She was still wearing the dark blue and gold uniform she had worn last time with polished black boots. There was a silver oak leaf on her high collar that Andros now recognized as a sign of rank.

Despite the novelty of the experience, he kept his face carefully neutral.

[Commander Varus,] he greeted her respectfully.

Her eyes widened slightly at his address and he felt an element of satisfaction at her surprise. Immediately her eyes thinned and took on a calculating expression.

[Mr. Aeton, it seems that a week of confinement has gone a long way toward civilizing you.]

Despite himself, Andros responded to the barb.

[I wish I could say the same of you, Commander. I still have no knowledge of the welfare of my people or even where they’re being held.]

Instead of replying immediately, the Commander sat back in her chair and steepled her fingers. Andros was quickly learning that this was a common gesture for the woman. She looked like she was searching him for the best place to stick a knife. He had seen the same look from Nestor many times and that put him on the alert. Whenever Nestor had that look, bad news was about to fall on Andros’ ears. She didn’t disappoint.

[Your people are safe. They have been confined and put in stasis for the rest of their journey. I invited you here to see the pinnacle of human achievement and inform you of your next destination.]

[How considerate of you,] I replied dryly.

She merely gave him a faint smile in response. His token show of resistance was amusing to her in some way. Instead of saying anything else, her chair turned back toward the main panel of view screens and the Guard behind Andros prodded him forward until he stood at the left hand of the Commander.

He wanted to ask the Commander what he was expected to see but resisted the impulse. Instead, he observed the controlled chaos on the bridge. What was strange to witness was the lack of audible communication. Andros assumed they had various channels that he wouldn’t be allowed to hear. Further, he now wondered if he could change his audience with his speech. For example, when he spoke earlier, did both of the guards hear him? Or was it just the Commander? He waited to see if his intranet link would provide helpful tips. After a beat, he realized that no clarification would be forthcoming.

He was deciding what else to try to learn when his eyes were drawn to the main view screens. White light was beginning to run down the side of the massive structure like water in a stream. He could see that it was descending both arcs of the ring until it passed out of view. He wondered about the significance, but he didn’t have to wait long. Soon his question was answered, but by what he couldn’t say.

The entire interior of the ring was abruptly filled with a shimmering white substance. It looked like white fire underneath the water. He knew it was a strange description, but he had no real-world experience to compare it to. The water rippled like the surface of a pond, and then he realized that the ring was drying closer.

[Mr. Aeton] there was awe in the Commander’s voice. [You’re witnessing the first Stellar Gate outside of the Sol System. When we pass through its event horizon, we’ll be home.]

Andros sensed the longing in her voice when she said home. He couldn’t help the bitter anger that washed over him.

It’s home for her. Home for me was the planet they stole me from.

He had the sudden realization that he might never see his home again. Something in his thoughts must have appeared on his face because the Commander addressed them.

[Your home is in Sol now. I have been ordered to deliver you to Ceres. It’s a military station for the Imperial military. I don’t know what’s going to happen to you, and I won’t pretend that I want to know.]

Her expression softened. It was something that Andros had not expected to see.

[I know it must be jarring to find yourself in a universe far larger than you ever expected. What the Empire does, it does for the good of all humanity.] She gave him a long look.

[For better or for worse, you have drawn the intention of Imperial Intelligence. For what, I cannot and will not say. All I do know is that you’re being sent to Ceres, while the rest of your people are being sent to Ganymede to supplement the colonists there.]

The news hit Andros like a punch to the jaw.

I’m being separated from my people? No. No fucking way.

[If I refuse?] He ground out.

The Commander spared him a look of pity. [You won’t have the opportunity to refuse. Comply or die. The Empire doesn’t have room for malcontents.]

She turned away from him and he felt the sense of finality in her gaze. As far as she was concerned, the conversation was over. Before the Expedition had fully entered the event horizon, he was already being led away from the bridge by his guards. The trip back to his cell was an agonizing one. He wanted to plan an escape or die before they could take him to Ceres. Neither of those propositions seemed possible. He was bound, and his guards kept a watchful eye on him the entire time. If he wanted to escape, something would need to change.

It occurred to him that the Expedition couldn’t be in two places. Either his people would have to be transferred to another ship, or he would have to. If they had captured his entire village and then put them in stasis, it was logical that they would be staying with the Expedition. It would be far easier to transport him on another craft once they entered the Sol system.

That’s it, he realized. When they transfer me, that’s when I’ll make my move.

If he was extremely lucky, he’d be able to commander the craft and have them take him…where?

He could try and go back to Hod, but the Stellar Gate seemed of vast importance. It would be well-guarded.

I’ll go to Ganymede. If I can get back among others of my kind, I’ll be able to hide.

He wasn’t sure what he’d be able to accomplish, if anything, once he arrived, but it was at least the start to a plan. He wasn’t going to lie down and let the Empire take their pound of flesh. He was going to do what it took to return to his people, and take them back home.

If he was honest with himself, he was intimidated by the thought of Ceres. He didn’t know what traps the Empire had laid for him, but he didn’t want to walk in blindly. Being a guest or medical experiment of the Empire seemed like a terrible way to go. He wanted to live his own life, by his own decisions.

He would succeed, or he would die trying.