253 Soothing voice
Castor’s return to the sanctuary was a whole different experience from how he moved out of it.
Instead of using the same, last-century technology of beaming, he was transported by auditor’s personal taxi to the hangar where only the blockers stopped his jaws from dislocating and dropping to the floor.
The hangar was the size of a small moon, filled to the brim with ships of all sizes. Yet, as if it wasn’t enough, the hangar itself turned out to be a separate construction docked to the capital ship.
“Follow me,” one of the two elites that gave him a ride said before moving into a corridor that should belong to a mansion rather than a fleet’s warship.
Then, Castor ended up taking several lifts, both vertical and horizontal, before ending up in a claustrophobically small capsule, roughly half the size of his sanctuary.
‘How is it going to work?’ he asked himself, his shock and curiosity getting one over the blockers. “This ship is way too small to be a transporter, isn’t it?” he suggested, turning his eyes towards his extraordinary guides.
“That’s because it’s not a transporter,” the more talkative of the elites replied. “It’s a transportation vessel. So you better strap on and get ready for the ride,” he instructed.
The elite then patted Castor on the arm before leaving the capsule and standing by a console right on the outside.
“Tell me when you are ready.”
Castor, still pretty much unable to care about anything, followed the orders and brought the seat’s arm over his chest. A press of a button later, the plate covered his entire chest only for a strange liquid to shoot out from it, covering the rest of his flesh.
“You are one of the very few people who can use it without ending up on some deserted planet with rockets flying all over your head,” the elite remarked as soon as he confirmed Castor was properly secured in his seat. “Instead of dropping you to the warzone, we will drop your ass right by your tiny ship. And with that,” the elite said as he turned his head to Castor and smiled, “safe travels!”
The elite pressed the button on his console, causing the doors of the capsule to slide in and then press outwards, locking themselves in place. The capsule then started to fill out with a similar liquid to the one Castor was already fully covered in.
Only once every last iota of air left the vehicle and the pressure of the liquid reached the designated point did the insides turn bright from all the inner lights turning green.
And then, the ride began.
‘What is going on?’ Castor asked himself impassively. And as if responding to his thoughts, a holoscreen appeared right before his eyes with a video monitoring the state of the capsule from the outside.
A robotic arm grew up from below the capsule’s docking port, turning it to the side before moving it over to an area with nothing but a circular, open space.
“Ugh…” a small moan escaped Castor’s lips when inertia suddenly threatened to turn his flesh into a pancake.
The robotic arm that caught the capsule before now started to spin it around in the open space at the rate of acceleration that top-grade engines could only hope to achieve.
“Velocity satisfied.”
A voice filled the insides of the capsule, becoming the only handle allowing Castor to keep himself conscious.
“Destination marked.”
The voice continued to confirm every step of the procedure.
“Gravity well prepared.”
Castor gulped his saliva down.
“Launch in three, two, one…”
The inertia that squeezed Castor’s insides vanished. From an extreme discomfort, he suddenly found himself perfectly fine, with no external forces affecting his body.
The liquid within the capsule started to drain as well. And once breathable air filled the insides again, the security over Castor’s straps finally came undone, allowing him to relax on his seat.
“What the hell was that,” he muttered to himself.
The fact that he could use a light curse meant that the blockers in his blood reached their half-life.
With the newfound curiosity, Castor then rewind the video on his holoscreen, watching how his capsule was spun at mind-boggling speeds only to be then released in a specific direction.
“Approaching transfer lock.”
The operating system of the capsule announced. “Prepare to disembark.”
The video of the launch disappeared from Castor’s holoscreen, replaced by the sight of his sanctuary growing within the lens of the capsule’s outer camera.
‘What is it that slows us down?’ he then asked himself.
They were in space. There was no air to kill their velocity and the natural gravity would only bring him toward the planet. And yet, his capsule slowed down before gently touching the docking port of the sanctuary.
Whoosh!
‘Was it the gravity well?’ Castor guessed, right as the sliding doors of the capsule unlocked, revealing a hand.
A hand that reached for Castor’s collar.
“Get inside, quick!” the voice behind the hand urged him while the hand pulled him through the docking port.
A mere moment later, the dock shut closed, before releasing the capsule.
Still shocked by all the events playing out before his eyes, Castor could see through the sanctuary’s window how the capsule then started falling back towards the capital ship in the distance, as if the ship’s gravity itself was pulling it back.
‘Gravity well it is,’ he thought before finally gathering himself and turning around to take a look at whoever was inside.
“I’m Alice, it’s nice to meet you.” The hand that pulled him inside now let go of Castor’s collar only to then arrive at the level of his chest.
“I’m Castor, likewise,” earth’s overseer replied in a slightly confused voice, burdened with the rapidly returning emotions. And yet, he found enough peace of mind to reach out and grab the hand before shaking it.
“First off,” Alice started, “your blockers should be about to wear off. Can you confirm it for me?” she requested in a pleasant, casual voice.
“Huh?” Castor shook his head, unable to wrap his head around the weird state of his brain.
His emotions returning made him feel a strange sense of euphoria, just like someone waking up from a drug-induced coma. And yet, as those emotions started to return, he couldn’t help but recall all the things that he read about in Catlea’s report card.
“I…” Castor hesitated for a second. “I don’t feel too good…” he muttered, grabbing at the ship’s frame to stop himself from falling over.
“I know,” Alice replied, shooting her arms out and locking them behind Castor’s head.
Her smell suddenly reached Castor’s nostrils, exploding in a fruity, citrus-like nuke in his brain.
“I know this is sudden,” the girl whispered while dragging Castor deeper into the sanctuary. She then fell down on formerly Catlea’s sofa before pulling the man over herself. “But this is the best way to help you overcome the drawback of the blocker’s decaying,” she whispered in a sweet voice, raising her legs only to lock them behind Castor’s hips.
“Wait, what?” Castor attempted to protest. The image of his former flame was way too vivid in his brain for him to accept the comfort of a woman he just met. “I don’t even…”
Castor failed to finish his words when Alice forcefully pressed her lips against his. And as her finger touched the back of Castor’s brain, his mind exploded, suddenly merging with the head of the girl below.
“It’s okay.” Alice’s soothing voice filled Castor’s soul, coming straight from her soul that he was now connected to. “You didn’t deserve any of what happened to you.” Her words melted through the barrier of mental pain that was starting to appear around Castor’s core. “So let me show you just what wonders you actually deserve.”