Tessa's POV:

The sound of strange voices speaking in a weird language woke me up. My head and body hurt, so I didn't try to move just yet. My ear tufts flicked slightly at the unusual words and accent. I had never heard it before, yet could understand it perfectly due to the Blood Memories.

"We're almost there. Is there any sign of pursuit?"

A rather creaky voice replied, "Negative. Two were almost caught, but self-destructed to avoid capture."

"A preferable way to go considering the events that just occurred."

"Tessa..." Mom called longingly, as if not expecting a response. There was a pause as shock rolled down the mindlink. "Tessa! You're awake! Are you alright? Where are you?"

"I just woke up. What happened?" Things seemed a bit foggy and didn't make sense.

"Can you show me where you are?"

Slowly lifting my head, I blinked bleary eyes to clear them. It was a tiny shuttle; barely big enough for the two white-skinned aliens sitting side by side in the front. Peeking over my shoulder, I confirmed that I was in the back, stuck inside some sort of small cage made from metal bars.

I shared the images with Mom. "Where am I? Where's Soranto?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out. Are you able to see outside any window?"

There were no side windows, but if I lifted my head against the top bars and peered between the two aliens, I could see a glimpse of inky blackness out the front window.

I sent her that image as well as telling her, "One of them said we were almost 'there', but I don't know where it is. They don't see anyone following either."

"Are you hurt at all?"

After a quick check, I replied, "Just sore. My head hurts, and I have a few cracked scales." My wings hadn't been broken or injured during all of my tumbling, which was a small miracle I was grateful for.

Her relief was almost a physical force. "Taureen is asking if you can send him a mindlink of what the controls look like."

"I can't see them." I re-sent the image of the back of the two aliens towering over me, including Taureen in the mindlink this time.

I laid back down on the hard floor, hoping my aches would go away. The cage was barely big enough for me to stand in. It was pulling up Blood Memories of the scientists in the lab, and it made me uneasy. I didn't trust the Votaks.

Mom kept the mindlink open with trickles of emotion and let me rest. I was grateful for the mindlink – it made me feel less alone. Along the edges, I could feel Dad and Dirk, although they didn't say anything and just sent relief and love across.

"Bay doors are opening."

Lifting my head as high as I could, I managed to make out a cratered grey surface and the edge of a rather dark hole. I sent the image to Mom, Dad, Dirk, Taureen, and Aeria.

My eyes widened as the hole took over more and more of the window – before plunging us into darkness. The lack of light grated on my nerves, although dim illumination from the control panel faintly silhouetted the two Votaks. Dim yellow lights appeared outside as the Votaks opened up the side doors.

I hissed at him when he grabbed the cage, pinning my ear tufts back. He shook the cage slightly, making me fall down as my claws skidded across the slippery bottom. Scrambling back to my feet, I backed up against the rear wall while growling at him.

Something flew out of the shuttle and landed on his shoulder. It vaguely looked like a blue macaw from the Aralias Gardens, but it had two tiny front arms folded against its chest. Its feathery tail was long like a lizard's and ended in a tuft.

"There was nothing like that on Earth before," the parrot-lizard thing said aloud as it leaned over to look at me. Its creaky voice allowed me to identify it as one of the earlier speakers.

"I don't recognize it either. Perhaps it might be one of the chimeras. We'll find out more when we get to the lab. At least we got something out of this unexpected development. I didn't plan on coming here until we built our base on Tohr."

A growl shook my chest. I wasn't sure exactly what these three were up to, but I wanted no part of it. The group walked down narrow, poorly lit corridors that resembled a maze. The one carrying my cage went into a room as the other Votak kept going.

Unceremoniously, he plunked my cage on a counter. One wall was made of numerous screens, buttons, controls, and things I couldn't identify. Pulling open a drawer, he pulled out a tiny pair of pliers and a small tool with a small suction cup on the end.

He turned and approached the cage. My ear tufts went back as I snarled at him. My fear and anger were probably transmitting across the mindlink that I was still maintaining, and I could feel my family's own rage rising. My growing panic interfered with my concentration, severing the mindlink without me holding it open on my end.

In a desperate attempt to stop the Votak, I exhaled hard – but no flames appeared. The Votak placed the tools beside my cage and grabbed something that resembled the humans' potato masher. It folded and slid between the bars before flaring out and pushing me against the back of the cage.

I shrieked and struggled, but it only took him a few seconds to pin me firmly. My already-sore joints ached with the pressure. He grabbed the pliers first, and I screeched when I felt the sharp pain of a scale being pulled out. After he plucked three scales, he put down the pliers and picked up the suction cup tool.

My attempts to squirm free only resulted in more pressure pinning me against the hard bars of the cage. My chest hurt, and it was getting hard to pull in a full breath. The suction cup tool pushed against my upper flank and another sharp pain made me hiss and try to struggle again.

After too many seconds, the pain stopped, and he removed the suction cup. To my immense relief, he also took the pinning tool away as well. I hissed at him again, although it was short-lived since I needed to catch my breath.

If he took any notice, I couldn't tell. The parrot-lizard creature seemed amused and clacked his beak.

"Feisty, isn't it?" the parrot commented.

"I'm not terribly surprised," the Votak said in a bored tone. "Apus, can you start the secondary analyzers while I prepare this?"

"Sure thing, Claas."

The parrot flew over and picked up my scales in hands that were a smaller version of its feet. Flying over to one of the control panels, it landed on a perch and began putting my scales into different parts of the machine.

Belatedly, I sent reassurance down the mindlink so my family knew I was still alive. I really wanted to get out of here. The bars weren't wide enough for my head to fit through to investigate the lock on my cage. Neither of my captors were looking in my direction, so I stuck my hand above where I thought the latch might be and felt around for a latch or handle.

The surface was smooth without any indentations, buttons, or handles. I pulled my hand back before I got caught. Turning around in the cramped space, I leaned against the bars, subtly testing if they were loose.

Nothing shifted or even creaked. I wasn't sure if I could get out, and that was saying something since Taureen and Aeria had introduced us to almost any handle or latch they could locate.

I mindlinked Mom, Dad, Taureen, and Aeria all of the images and what I had tried.

After a few seconds, Mom replied, "Taureen thinks it's a pressure lock. You won't be strong enough to open it."

"Any other suggestions?"

"Try not to make them too angry. Votaks aren't known for their patience and can be quick to lash out."

"Is Soranto okay?"

"We know he survived, but that's about it."

My ear tufts lowered in worry. "Was he captured like me?"

"Very likely," Mom reluctantly replied, clearly wishing that both Soranto and I were back on Earth.

I hesitated, then asked, "Should I mindlink him?"

Mom was silent for a moment before replying, "I don't think so. He has no way of knowing if it is really you, and if he was caught, he might think it's some Votak trick. He also has no way to reply."

I whined faintly, but knew she was right. Mindlinking him wouldn't accomplish anything at this point. I really hoped he was okay – wherever he might be. Hopefully he wasn't stuck in a cage like I was.

I hadn't seen any other Votaks since arriving, but more could be around. There might also be more than just Votaks in this place though.

I uneasily glanced at the bird working at the machines. "What is the parrot thing? My Blood Memories aren't showing anything." I kept my mindvoice to only Mom and Dad this time.

"I shared an image with Taureen, and he's never heard of an intelligent feathered race capable of actually flying. It's a big universe, though, so he's searching, but he hasn't found anything yet. Aeria is with Adeline at the moment, but Keegan said she shook her head no, so she probably doesn't know either."

Twisting around, I tried to stretch my muscles. There was barely enough room for me to even turn around, let alone spread my wings in the rectangular cage. No food or water was present, which concerned me.

My throat was dry and made me want to cough. I didn't remember ever being this hungry before.

"How long has it been?" I asked Mom.

"About half a day. The sun is almost ready to set."

No wonder I was so hungry. I began digging at one corner, letting my claws screech against the metal. The Votak looked back with a faint scowl.

"When you finish, Apus, get it some water."

"Sure. Almost done. What are you going to do with it? That cage will be a mess in a few days."

"That depends on what the results show. I'm not going to waste my time on a common animal. Although I am curious about its ability to track the scent of a crawler on the air. Might have to keep it for genetic samples. Did Gher successfully bring the crawler here?"

My blood ran cold at the thought of being kept for 'genetic samples'. It worried me much more than the crawler being in the same building.

Apus flew over to a different perch and touched the screen several times. "Yes. It's stored in the containment room. Twenty-one of your team managed to make it here. Two more are luring the Kymari away. The rest self-destructed when they were caught."

Claas kept working with whatever he was doing and didn't reply. Apus flew over to a different counter and fiddled around with a bottle and a tray. The sound of running water had my immediate attention, and I watched Apus fill up the water bottle. Some sort of narrow bowl was twisted onto the end.

He flew over and wedged the bowl between the bars as he fastened the bottle to the cage bars. Water filled the bowl, and I buried my muzzle into the narrow container as I drank deeply. The water tasted stale and heavy, but I was too thirsty to care.

Three large minnows were tossed beside me. My stomach growled loudly at the sight of food. I only hesitated for a brief moment before chomping them down like I was starving – which my stomach thought I was. The fishy taste wasn't something I liked, but most of the dragonets in the park ate them occasionally.

Curling up as best I could on the cold metal floor, I warily watched the duo continue working.

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Please note that tomorrow's update will be about  5 hours later than when I usually post. I'll be travelling without internet access.