Wake
05 Aug 2021Prochaska
In the meantime, Kendra was still being held captive by Gender Travel PLC on Dhawan Survey in the Gender system. Messages indicated that her current state was strangely confused, as if she were not herself right now. Phases of despair and resignation interchanged with absentmindedness; strange dreams woke her in the night. Even Hans v. Volldampf worried about her state now, and tried to bring his authority as an officer of the ARRC into play when addressed the Head of security services of Gender Travel PLC and requested a meeting with Kendra, demanding that she is treated well in the meantime. Zoe tried to contact Declan, of whom she knew that he was still out on his return voyage from his meeting with Jaques in Colonia. Zoe tried to reach Declan and asked him to return as soon as possible and intervene, since she considered her own influence in the group too small. It turned out that Declan was already back in Shinrarta, and he was glad to hear from Zoe. He expressed his own concerns that after the destruction of Sharon, whose programming had probably been flawed because she was able to take on human features, a new copy of Sharon would now be created that did not have that "flaw" in her. Both agreed that only Kendra had enough background information on Sharon, and that it was important to get her out of prison as soon as possible. Zoe was surprised when Declan ends his message with the personal statement that he has finally found someone he can trust after so many years of not trusting a damn soul. She was glad to hear it, though, as she found Declan very sympathetic during their first conversation a few weeks ago. She replied to him that she knew this feeling very well, herself.
Kendra was then transferred from Gender to the prison ship Fist of the Empire.
On the evening of the 23rd, Jintosh, Gravlex, Lexi and Zoe gathered in Gender and the remains of Sharon were buried. After that they flew on and Kendra was questioned in her cell. Here she told that she had hidden 2 documents in different places on planets nearby, and the group set out with her to collect the documents.
Just before Kendra was transferred back to the prison ship, she addressed Zoe: "Zoe, do you think they let me go?" - "I hope so. Can't lock you up forever," she replied to Kendra. Had she said that more for Kendra's reassurance or her own? She wasn't sure. A hollow smile showed on Kendra's face. "I have no hope," she said. Then the action was complete and Kendra was taken back to the Fist of the Empire.
The next day, Jintosh received a message from Kendra showing that she had been mistreated by guards in the cell. This caused great horror among all, and while plans were being made to free her from the station, in the prison ships infirmary the attending physician introduced herself as an agent of the Utopian Watch. At the end of the week, Kendra was finally freed from custody by her Utopian Watch comrades.