Locked Away - (A mini Story)
13 Dec 2021Isabella Levine
The automated cell doors opened and out came Isabella. Outfitted in dark orange coveralls and heavy magnetic boots to keep her planted in zero-g. She stepped forward towards an upper railing where she turned left and found a guard. Body armour but no gun. None of the guards had guns. Not in a prison ship like the one Isabella found herself in. The only guard with a gun she eyed was situated on a higher walkway than what she was on. A rifle of some kind she hadn't seen before. This was her 6th day in prison for crimes she didn't commit. Framed by a vengeful agent that was completely off his rocker. A rogue agent for that matter yet he somehow kept it subtitled for this long. Until he found a way to exact revenge against not Isabella but her deceased father. The agent, Agent Alexandre Corbett, was friends with her father years ago in the Imperial Navy. During some, distant fight with a small non-mentionable rebellion in a forgettable system, Corbett had acted out on his own volition and fired upon an unarmed transport vessel extracting civilians from a combat zone. His justification was it harboured rebels that were trying to flee the conflict using civilian transport. Isabella's father was one to testify and with many backing him, Corbett was convicted for the mass murder of civilians. The incident was covered up and Corbett was locked away, festering in vengeance and anger against the one who 'embellished' to lock up competition. A ridiculous observation on his end. He was a murdering egotistical sociopath. But for him to think such things wasn't too far-fetched. The only way Isabella knew about this was during her trip to the Reformatory Prison Ship 6 days ago. Where he spilled all of what happened.
Isabella's first encounter with him was when she was detained at a Starport she couldn't remember the name of. She was brought there for 'interrogation'. New 'evidence' on a long-closed case resurfaced that now 'incriminated' her by associating Isabella with NMLA terrorists. It was a job she pulled roughly 7 months ago. Unbeknownst to her at that time, a job contracted by a Neo Marlinist. She'd run shipments for this contractor for days. Made millions. Of course, as a Freelancer, Isabella didn't ask questions. Just delivered components and supplies. She was arrested by the IISS and questioned. They deemed her innocent of association with the terrorists and let her go. But fast forward 7 months and Corbett got sent of by Levine. Thought it was her father but instead just her. His daughter. A search through data banks and a full file on who she was was his. Her citizenship, her Service History, and her Pilot's Federation License as a Commander. He found out about the incident 7 months ago and during his time, eventually found the Neo Marlinist and arrested him. Cut a deal to fabricate evidence that could Incriminate Isabella to justify locking her away. It worked, and here she was. Of course, she didn't go down without a fight. The detention center of the Starport, she broke out and fought two guards and the right-hand man of Corbett. Another IIS agent.
With luck, one guard in the commotion of her fighting the other, managed to shoot one of his own when she pushed the one guard into him. Gave her time to utilize the advantage given and take the gun after it was fired and dropped. The guard she took the gun from drew his sidearm and she had to shoot him. Hit him in the head. Isabella then took the agent hostage and activated the emergency release of all cell doors in the detention center. Chaos ensued and she tried to use it to escape via an express lift but ultimately failed when it was powered down. Friends of hers were tipped off by someone who was watching out for her but she didn't know who. Aurora, Novus, Sharales, Thallia, and even Solix had arrived to know what was going on. Nothing ended the way anyone hoped and Isabella surrendered being taken here. The Reformatory Prison Ship in deep space in orbit of a dead cold icy planet below.
6 days she'd been here and already she made enemies and unlikely friends. A woman by the name of Sabrina Volkov somehow pissed off some sort of pirate gang within the prison ship. Huge dispute that turned violent for probably ridiculous reasons. As always, Isabella was caught in the middle and acted out. Unintentionally siding with Sabrina Volkov and fighting back. The fight was broken up by guards with shock batons to which, in a rage and adrenaline rush, Isabella fought against and lost. After two days in confinement, Isabella is released and suddenly becomes best friends with Sabrina, according to her. She saw it as an act of good faith and conscience and believed Isabella did it to help her...but it wasn't like that. Isabella wanted to tell her but friends were good to have in a hostile environment and maybe siding with her was a way to get by.
The quick history of this woman from what she gathered by others was that she was a known Pirate gang leader. A serious one at that. She and her crew had several Imperial systems they pillaged consistently. She and her crew were fast. Usually, they were done a raid before local security forces could intervene. Fast strikes. She became well known for her 'work' and made enemies with not just Imperial local law enforcement but other gangs. One deal later with a suspected ally and she's backstabbed and stung by an undercover law enforcement agent. A setup. Now she finds herself in this prison ship as well. An old one at that.
The interior looked degraded. Unkempt. Much of the services weren't functional from what she saw. It sucked. She was going to spend her time here suffering inside a floating coffin. Apparently, before she arrived, they had inmates working on interior bulkheads, structural integrity was compromised somehow and 4 inmates were vacuumed in a rapid explosive decompression. This place was wonderful, Isabella thought to herself as she began her way down the ramp that led to an open common area. She stood next to several other female inmates before they were addressed by a guard's men and ordered to follow through a set of heavy metal doors. Through a corridor, they exited out of a second set of heavy doors and into a food court of some sort. Here there were welded tables spread out amongst the food court. They were ordered into a single file line and marched in uniform where they were handed trays. There they lined up to have nutrient bars the size of your hand along with a water packet placed on the tray. Isabella questioned why they even bothered with trays if the food they got was a giant bar of crap with a packet of water that was never enough to quench your thirst after eating the trash that was the nutrition bar. Her question of course wouldn't go unanswered as she tried once before. 'Just eat your meal, girly' was the retort by the woman who gave her the food.
So Isabella figured there wasn't any use wasting breath to get no answer. It is what it is and so she took her tray and found herself a smooth steel table and stood by it, placing her tray on the table carefully. She eyed the dark brown bar before her and sighed heavily before taking the nutrition bar and taking a bite out of it. She lied to herself while she chewed; trying to think of a food that was much tastier and had the same texture. Didn't work. It never worked. The texture was near rubbery; the flavor was faded and it tasted more or less like cardboard, and it was dry. Way to dry. The packet of water she had could quench that thirst but it was never enough. Borderline torture was happening in this floating reformatory and she was suffering in on false accusations. False evidence. Fabricated. Her mind wandered back to him. Corbett. The blood in her veins boiled and she found her fist in a ball. She did care to get even. She just needed-
"Is...Isabella, right?"
Isabella faced the voice and was surprised to find Sabrina Volkov standing behind her. She smiled but she wasn't happy to see her. The brief history lesson by some was enough to want to keep her distance but here she was. Probably here to give her gratitude, Isabella thought. She didn't want it. What she wanted was to be left alone.
"We met the other day...sorry about the little show. But you helped with those goons and I saw you fight. You were nothing from what I expected."
Isabella turned to that. 'Expected'. How was she expected? "What are you talking about?"
"The fight, dummy. You were really good."
"You said 'expected'. What does that mean." Sabrina sighed and stepped in closer. Too close for Isabella's comfort.
"I met your friend." Isabella's face turned quizzical. She wasn't following. "I have no friends. Not anymore."
"Well, she knows you. I got a visit in the visitor's area. We talked. I have a plan that I've been working on for a while now and she told me if I helped you, she'll...help me on this plan I have...somehow. This lady somehow knew about it though which raises questions for me. Brings worry because I know I've kept a lid on this."
"On what?" Isabella asked her.
"My escape...and you're going to help me."
