Page 20 of The Program

She stepped towards the platform, placing herself in the same position that the chief had just vacated beside me. ‘I was the one that retrieved the original surveillance footage of the attack. The attacker was very clearly not Reece Hastings. I haven’t seen the video you have in evidence, but I know for a fact that Hastings is innocent because I’ve seen the real evidence myself.’

They inhaled sharply in unison, their shock at her blatant dispute of their so-called ‘proof’ reverberating around the small room. ‘Careful,Chief Warrant Officer. I should hope you are not insinuating that our evidence is false.’

The threat was clear. I just wanted nothing more than for Brin to shut up and for this whole farce to be over with. I didn’t want to drag her or anyone else down with me.

'I’m not insinuating anything. I was merely stating that I was the one who recovered the original evidence, and therefore I am well aware of this man’s innocence. Whatever video you have that apparently proves his guilt has either been tampered with or misinterpreted.’

‘Shut up,’I hissed at her out of the corner of my mouth. She ignored me.

‘Miss Brin,’ the original speaker began, dropping her title in a blatant show of disrespect, the threat more tangible than ever. ‘There are severe consequences for what you are claiming. Produce this apparent ‘real’ footage now, or youwillbe penalised.’

Without missing a beat she pulled her holo-tab from her belt, messed about with it for a moment and then handed it over to the officials extended hand.

With all the confidence in the world, enough to even re-spark that tiny ember of hope that had so long ago been smothered, she spoke. ‘Just press play and see for yourself. Reece Hastings is innocent.’

None of the officials so much as twitched. Instead, a heavy sense of foreboding drifted through the air and pressed down on my with suffocatingintensity. I knew, then and there, that even though she was providing them with the evidence to have me acquitted, they were going to dismiss it.

She’d destroyed herself trying to protect me.

The official played the hologram of the security footage, and there, clear as day, we could all see the true criminal in all his arrogant, malignant glory.

And then the holo-tab was scattered on the floor in pieces, shards of glass and machinery creating a thin carpet of destroyed hopes and dreams.

Brin gasped. Her knees bent as if she were about to attempt to gather the pieces and reassemble it there and then, but she thought better of it at the last moment.

‘All I saw was Reece Hastings believing a simple mask could cover his identity. There is nothing there worthwhile, and you will now face the consequences of lying to this council. Adara Brin, you are hereby stripped of your employment within the military, your title and your status, and are hereby found guilty of contempt in this court.’

Her face paled until the pink was practically white, then she stepped backwards into me. No, she didn’t step, shefell.I quickly linked my arms beneath hers to steady her and keep her upright, but the damage was already done. I didn’t have to see their faces to feel the smugness radiating from them.

‘Reece Hastings, it is clear to see that you are guilty. You are hereby officially charged with physical and sexual assault, sexual harassment, and contempt of this court. Take them away. You know where.’

Gas mask-clad guards suddenly materialised seemingly from thin air and converged on both me and Brin. I knew there was no point in fighting it, but Brin protested loudly. When they grabbed her, she kicked out and screamed, demanding to be freed and insisting this was all a misunderstanding. When she clocked enough of the guards they eventually pulled out a syringe and injected her with some sort of substance that knocked her out almost immediately.

When one of them draped her over their shoulder, her head banging against their back with every step, I couldn’t keep silent any longer.

‘Stop! Put her down!’ I shouted, throwing my elbows out at the guards surrounding me. They grunted when I made contact, falling back momentarily before someone whipped out another syringe.

There was nothing I could do to stop them from stabbing me in the neck with the needle. A cool sensation spread from the stab site, running through my veins faster than I could comprehend. Within moments everything was spinning, my vision blackened, and then there was nothing.

CHAPTER 7

ARTEMIS

Another night had passed without a hitch. The other girls were beginning to trust that no one would try something while they slept, so they became a little more relaxed with taking turns on night watch duty. I, however, remained awake for as long as possible.

It had been two days since that first rain-drenched night, and though the forest was still damp it only served to make for a spongier bed when it came time to rest. Now the leaves were drying up again alongside the top layer of soil, it was starting to become a bother to the more heavily pregnant women.

The two pairs further along in their pregnancies had started to complain about back pain and cramps, and I was worried they were going into labour. We still hadn’t found a safe place to settle down yet, and I was becoming increasingly concerned that they would give birth out in the open and give away our location to those hunting us down.

Which was why Libby and I had gone ahead last night while the others were sleeping to try and find a place to at least hunker down safely until the babies were born and their mothers could travel again.

We had been searching for many turns without any luck, but I had a feeling we were going to find something soon. The terrain was changing the further we trudged, the trees giving way to more clearings and rocky outcrops. Through the thinning canopy I could just make out the rise of mountains and realised we were in a valley between two. That meant there would be a cave system we could turn into our home, even if only temporarily.

Hopefully, we could find an empty one to avoid having to fight whatever animal was already using it.

‘Hey, over here! Check this out,’ Libby called from somewhere just barely beyond my sightline, raising my blood pressure. The trees covered many dips and hills in the ground, which we discovered after almost falling down a few. The terrain was certainly uneven, and it was getting more difficult to navigate the closer we came to the base of the mountains. If it hadn’t been so flat thus far I would have believed we were trekking down the side of one.

I was still clueless as to which planet we were on since the flora and fauna could have been imported from other planets and systems, but from the consistency of the types of plants and animals, the extreme weather and rough terrain, I was leaning towards either Tornulis or Fernilum. My guess right now would have been Tornulis because despite the trees being tall and large, they weren’t nearly as high for the Drakferns to build their cities.

---