It had been a full nineteen days since the capture of the boys. The eight who worked willingly had all but ceased to speak of returning home. They worked each day without argument and met each night for a time of fellowship together. It was the same, day after day. It was, therefore, rather strange when they were all called together late one morning with no explanation offered.
Kandryl had sent for them: all of them. They were brought together in a small room in the medical section to wait for orders. None knew what was going to happen. There was quiet conversation and speculation as they waited.
Very soon a medic entered the room and told them that Kandryl was ready. The boys were then led together into a medical room. Eriane gasped and drew back as he recognized the room. He had never been inside of it, but he knew it well enough by sight. In the center was a medical bed, and at the foot of this bed was a squarish device. The boys had entered from the back of the room and stood now facing the bed, nearest the foot.
"No, no," said Eriane softly, trying to back away.
"Djaisiuk!" cried Sandy in surprise and joy.
The other boys looked up and saw Djaisiuk sitting on a tall stool at the left hand side of the medical bed, facing the bed. His eyes were lowered and his shoulders drooped. He did not look up as they entered, and it seemed to them that his usually emotionless face was very pale and was laced with a touch of sadness or hopelessness, though it was difficult to tell which. His left side was facing them, and Eriane's trained eye immediately detected something definitely wrong in both the way that Djaisiuk's left arm hung limply at his side and in the lack of color in his face; Djaisiuk's breathing too, and the whole way in which he sat indicated that something more was wrong than immediately met the eye. Wysire too looked quite concerned upon seeing Djaisiuk's strange expression. Eriane stepped forward cautiously.
"Djaisiuk?" he began. "What--"
Before he could finish, two doors, one at the front of the room, in front of the boys, and one near the back of the room, to the left of the boys, opened at almost the same time. Through the front door, the one facing the boys, Kandryl entered. Through the rear door, four guards entered, leading Christopher and Faquire.
The boys were startled but overjoyed at seeing one another, and, to their surprise, the guards made no attempt to restrain the two prisoners from interacting with the other boys. Exclamations of joy and inquiries about health and well-being were quickly exchanged. The guards retreated to the very back of the room, and left the boys standing in a group, a few feet from the foot of the medical bed which sat in the middle of the room.
Kandryl gave the boys a minute or two to converse before interrupting them. He stepped forward to stand on the opposite side of the bed from Djaisiuk in front of what Eriane knew to be the controls for the horrible little device and looked at the group of boys before him.
"Doubtless you are wondering why you are here," said Kandryl. The boys grew silent immediately and looked up at him. "You are here to help me, if you will, and to suffer the consequences, if you will not."
Kandryl's voice was slightly lower than the free boys were accustomed to hearing. Danger seemed to hang in the air, and they all felt it. They waited quietly and expectantly for they knew not what.
"Your friend Djaisiuk," continued Kandryl, turning to look at Djaisiuk as he spoke, "has disobeyed orders. He has broken into an area in which he had no business, and there, it is believed, he has performed some sabotage. He now refuses to tell us what he has done."
The boys looked at Djaisiuk, and Kandryl could see that their astonishment was unfeigned (although he was very displeased to see admiration as well in several of their faces). Faquire alone did not look surprised, for he had already known this. The others, however, obviously did not know what to think. Djaisiuk had been working for the Vukasovians willingly, they had thought. They would never have expected any action of the kind that Kandryl now described from him.
Realization seemed to dawn on both Eriane and Wysire as they looked at Djaisiuk, though in different ways for each.
"What have you done to him?!" demanded Eriane angrily.
Most of the other boys looked at Eriane in surprise, but Kandryl merely ignored him.
"This is where I need your assistance," continued Kandryl. "You will convince him to tell me what I wish to know. This you will do of your own accord or by other chosen means. Which do you prefer?"
Kandryl paused and looked at each of them in turn. The boys looked from Kandryl to Djaisiuk for a moment. Eriane looked furious, and Wysire began to look far more concerned than he had earlier.
"No one questions Djaisiuk," said Jaeger at last. "If he doesn't want to tell you something, then there's nothing that we can do or say to change his mind."
"And we wouldn't want to either," said Faquire sharply. "If he's done something against you, then I say, 'good for him!' I'll not help you to get information out of him."
"Oh, you will help me," purred Kandryl. "Have no doubt on that score. I only asked whether you would help willingly or unwillingly."
Kandryl raised a hand and motioned to two of the guards. He then pointed to Jaeger, and the guards took hold of him to lead him forward.
"Your friend Eriane has, no doubt, told you about this place," Kandryl continued as the guards led Jaeger to the medical bed.
"Stop!" interrupted Eriane, seeing now what Kandryl meant to do. "Please! He'd help you if he could, but he's right. None of us could convince Djaisiuk to tell you something that he doesn't want to tell you, no matter what we said. Jaeger's not being rebellious; he's only being honest."
"What do you intend to do to me?" Jaeger asked Kandryl. His voice was almost angry now and not a bit fearful.
"I have told you already," said Kandryl. "You will help me, indeed all of you will help me, to learn what I wish to know. This machine, with which you may not be familiar, is very well known to Djaisiuk. He will know the pain that you feel, and he will have the option to end your pain at any time that he chooses. If he will but tell me what I want to know, then all of you will be able to go back to your work. If not, than you will each feel what this device is capable of inflicting, starting with the oldest," Kandryl, looking at Jaeger through this speech, now turned slowly to look over the other boys, his eyes coming to rest at last on Sandy, "and ending with the youngest."
Jaeger struggled suddenly, but the guards, ready for this, held him fast.
"Let them go!" said Jaeger sharply to Kandryl. "You've no right to be frightening the little ones like this. They've served you willingly; let them go! Keep me here, if you must, and do what you like to me, but I won't let you do this to the younger ones."
Kandryl smiled menacingly at him. "Then convince your friend to tell me what I wish to know, and you will all go free."
Jaeger turned to look at Djaisiuk silently for a moment, but Djaisiuk did not move. For a moment they remained thus, then Kandryl motioned to the guards to proceed. Jaeger no longer struggled as the guards forced him onto the table and strapped him to it. The medic who had led the free boys into the room prepared Jaeger's foot for the device. Jaeger continued to watch Djaisiuk silently through all of this, but Djaisiuk did not look up. He sat now less than two feet from Jaeger's left hand, but he seemed perfectly oblivious to anything and everything else in the room.
One of the guards returned to his place at the back of the room, but the other walked over to the group of boys again. This one took Eriane by the arm and led him to stand before the controls of the device. Eriane pulled back with a cry.
"No!" he exclaimed. "No, you can't expect me to do this! I won't!"
Kandryl stepped forward again to stand at Jaeger's right hand, positioning himself between Eriane and the medical bed.
"You may also talk to your friend Djaisiuk," said Kandryl. "If he relents, then you will be forced to do nothing."
Eriane looked across the bed at Djaisiuk, then looked up again at Kandryl. "I . . . I can't," he said softly. "Even if I wanted to do so, I couldn't."
"Try," said Kandryl.
"No," said Eriane, swallowing.
"Then begin," said Kandryl roughly.
Eriane shook his head half-fearfully. "I won't," he said.
Without a word, Kandryl picked up a small hand-held device from a table and turned and pressed the tip to Jaeger's neck. Jaeger gave a short cry as a strong electric shock was administered. Kandryl turned immediately back to Eriane.
"This," he said, holding up the device, "need not be employed. That," he pointed to the device encasing Jaeger's right foot, "will be. If you refuse to operate it, they will both be employed; if you obey, he need not suffer this one again."
Eriane looked from Kandryl to Jaeger to Djaisiuk and back, tears starting to form in his eyes. "Please don't make me do this," he whispered.
Kandryl turned again and lifted his hand to Jaeger's neck.
"Eriane, just do it!" cried Jaeger, before Kandryl could touch him again.
Kandryl stopped and smiled. He turned to look at Eriane and raised an eyebrow expectantly. Eriane, biting back tears of anger and shame, turned to the controls with trembling hands and began the procedure.
Jaeger was strong; he had been raised a hunter, living in the wild, as much as there was on Komislava. When he had first joined the IC School at age twelve, he had prided himself on his muscular, athletic form and had done all that he could to maintain it throughout his training. Now, after seven years of study and a life spent mostly indoors or on a ship, he was still as strong and wiry, although much more grown, than he had been at twelve when he had first joined. Indeed, on his visits home to his father's house, he had always impressed his younger half-brothers and sisters with his strength and bearing, so unlike any of the other students that they had known. Creole had been strong as well, not so much by choice as by necessity, because of his occupation on the ship. Jaeger, however, by far surpassed Creole. Because of this, he found himself better able to bear the torture to which he was now subjected than even Creole had done. He took the first several needles with scarcely so much as a flinch.
Eriane had, at first, been unable to watch. He had stood with his head down and eyes closed, hating himself for having helped to create this horrible device, and even more for now being the one forced to cause the pain being inflicted. He could hear the needles shooting out and penetrating, but there were no corresponding gasps or cries from Jaeger. At last Eriane did look up and saw that Jaeger lay still, face set, eyes closed, and muscles taunt, refusing to show any signs of pain. Eriane watched in awe.
The other boys (excepting Faquire) had heard of the device through Eriane, but had never expected to see it. Faquire alone among them had experienced it and could truly sympathize with what Jaeger was feeling. Jade understood Jaeger better than did the other boys, and he alone was not surprised at how well Jaeger controlled himself through it all. Even Kandryl was surprised at Jaeger's strength. He was, however, careful to conceal this surprise.
"You care nothing for your friend's pain?" asked Kandryl, stepping over to stand beside Djaisiuk. "You don't even look at him. Perhaps you care only for yourself?"
Djaisiuk had not looked up since the boys had entered, and even now he did not move. Apart from his slow, painful breathing (which was a little more audible than normal), he might have been carved from stone. His expression had not changed. When Kandryl thus drew attention to him, several of the other boys turned to look at him, questioning with their eyes, though not with their lips, why he would not speak, and whether it was possible that anything could be so important a secret as to allow this to continue rather than to tell it. Wysire alone turned away, unable to watch either Jaeger or Djaisiuk, understanding fully Kandryl's intentions and fearing for the result that they might produce on Djaisiuk as much as on any of the others. He wondered what emotional damage might already have been done. Djaisiuk had been able to heal Faquire when he had been hurt, but who would be able to heal Djaisiuk if he needed healing?
Soon enough, the procedure had finished. Jaeger had not uttered a cry, though his face had paled slightly. He let out a breath then, and, for the next minute or two, he breathed a little deeper than was normal for him. He did not yet open his eyes. Eriane caused the needles to be withdrawn and leapt forward to tend to Jaeger's foot. The medic had already come forward, both to ready the device for its next use and to tend to Jaeger, but Eriane firmly intervened with the latter task.
"No," he said sternly. "If you will force me to inflict the injury, then you will at least allow me to treat it!"
Kandryl smiled, amused, as if at a child's eccentricity, and motioned the medic to stand aside. Eriane saw the look and hated him for it. He said nothing, however, but quickly cleaned and sealed Jaeger's foot while two of the guards unfastened the restraints. Jaeger was then allowed to replace his shoe and walk back to the other boys. This he did without a wince or a limp; he held his head high, still refusing to show any pain.
Without a word, the guards then took hold of Jade and led him forward.
"I'm afraid you'll put me to shame, Jaeger," said Jade, smiling nervously as he was strapped to the table. "I know that I'm not quite as strong as you are."
Jade was already a little pale as the medic carefully positioned his foot in the device. Eriane stepped back to his assigned position, but could not take his eyes from Jade. When the medic finished and stepped away, Eriane still hesitated. It was not until Kandryl stepped forward towards the table that Eriane pulled his eyes away and began the procedure anew.
Jade uttered a cry of pain with the first needle. He tried hard to stifle the second cry, but only partially succeeded. Jaeger, heedless of Kandryl's frown, stepped quickly forward to stand at Jade's left hand, between Djaisiuk and the bed. He took Jade's left hand in his own left and placed his right hand on Jade's shoulder. Jade looked up at him gratefully, but closed his eyes again suddenly as the next needle entered him.
"Djaisiuk," said Jaeger quietly, not looking at him, "I know that we're not to question you, but please assure me that this is truly necessary. Please tell me now, before this goes any farther."
Djaisiuk still did not move or speak, and Jaeger did not turn to look at him. He continued to stand, still holding Jade's hand, his face growing darker. Jade, unused to pain and not as strong of will or body as his friend, continued to gasp or to cry out with each new puncture.
"Send them away, please!" Jade begged between needles. "Kandryl, please send the others away! They don't need to see this!"
"No, but it is good for them to see it," said Kandryl. "Remember that should your friend not be moved by your own cries, it may be that he shall be moved by theirs. Let them see what fate awaits them if he should not relent."
Jaeger's head snapped up suddenly, and he glared at Kandryl.
"Stop that thing, Eriane," he ordered. "Turn it off now!"
Eriane hesitated only a moment, looking to see Kandryl's reaction, then swiftly stopped the machine. Kandryl did not look at Eriane, but stepped forward, looking only at Jaeger, towards the left side of the bed where Jaeger stood.
"Let them go," said Jaeger quietly but firmly. "They have served you without question or argument; they've done everything that you've ever asked of them, and this is how you repay them?"
Kandryl motioned towards Djaisiuk, his expression calm. "If they care to exercise what influence they may have--" he began, but Jaeger did not let him finish.
"Djaisiuk will do as he pleases!" exclaimed Jaeger angrily. "If he has chosen to conceal something from you, then nothing that we say or do and nothing that you may choose to do to us will change his mind! You had nine willing workers and one who disobeyed. If you go on with this, you'll still be in the same place as far as Djaisiuk goes, but you'll no longer have the nine workers that you once did. Continue this -- this torture, and you'll lose at least one and maybe more of your nine workers just as surely, for I swear that I'll never serve you again if you continue this atrocity. And if you attempt to subject any of the younger ones to this device of horror, I'll kill you with my own hands!"
Through all of this speech, Kandryl's calm expression did not falter. He stood now immediately in front of Jaeger, quite close to Jade. Kandryl looked Jaeger in the eye as if daring him to attempt something. Finally he turned to Eriane and ordered him to continue. Eriane looked from Kandryl to Jaeger, unsure of what to do.
Kandryl lifted his right hand towards Jade's neck, holding out the electrical device. Jaeger's left hand leapt forward and caught Kandryl's hand by the wrist, holding it a few inches above Jade. Two of the guards started to step forward but stopped, unsure of what to do for Kandryl did not look at them. Kandryl and Jaeger looked one another in the eye, a real battle of wills silently being fought between them. Both were strong, and neither was willing to back down. At last, Kandryl reached across with his left hand, took the device out of his imprisoned right hand, and pressed it suddenly to Jaeger's wrist. Jaeger, not having expected this, let go immediately with a short cry and grasped his left wrist in his right hand. Without a pause, Kandryl passed the device back into his right hand and pressed it to Jade's neck. Jade then cried out as well as the pain of the shock entered his neck and spread quickly through the left side of his face and his left shoulder.
It seemed to those standing there that something snapped in Jaeger then. He pulled his right hand back in a fist and swung hard. He hit Kandryl squarely in the left side of the jaw, just as Kandryl was turning back to look at him. Kandryl was thrown sideways from the force of the blow and fell over Jade. The two guards hesitated no longer but jumped forward immediately and grabbed hold of Jaeger. Jaeger did not struggle, but watched silently as Kandryl lifted himself from the bed and put a hand to his mouth. It came away with blood on it. He looked up at Jaeger darkly.
"You shouldn't have done that," said Kandryl coldly. His voice was altered somewhat as if it was almost difficult to shape words, and, as he spoke, Jaeger, who was still very near to him, could see that two of his teeth on the top left of his jaw had been knocked out.
The medic had come quickly up to Kandryl, holding a scanner which he lifted to Kandryl's face for a moment.
"There's some damage," he said quietly. "May I suggest, sir, that you come away to have it treated?"
Kandryl had not looked away from Jaeger. "I could have you killed for this," he said quietly.
Jaeger did not answer. He continued to look at Kandryl threateningly. He suddenly realized that Djaisiuk, sitting there at his right elbow, had raised his head and had been watching. As soon as Jaeger turned to look at him, however, Djaisiuk again lowered his gaze to stare at the floor. None could have guessed how fervently Djaisiuk was praying just then. Jaeger turned and looked at Kandryl again.
"Lock him in a cell," said Kandryl to the guards. "I'll deal with him later."
All eyes in the room were on Jaeger and Kandryl, so none noticed as Djaisiuk closed his eyes and gave a silent sigh, as if in relief. He reopened his eyes almost immediately and did not move otherwise.
Kandryl then turned and walked out of the room, followed by the medic. The two guards began to lead Jaeger towards the door at the back of the room, but as soon as the door at the front of the room closed behind Kandryl, Jaeger suddenly sprang to life. He lifted his good left foot and kicked one of the guards hard in the knee. That guard loosened his grip and bent forward a little in pain. Jaeger ripped his left arm free and turned to land another strong punch square in the face of the second guard. The two remaining guards at the back of the room sprang forward.
"Leil! Christopher!" shouted Jaeger. "Take them!'
"Jaeger, what are you doing?" cried Detrin, but Jaeger was past hearing. His blood was hot now, and he was not about to submit. He had turned to administer another blow to the other guard and soon laid them both flat on the floor. He then jumped forward to help Christopher who had attacked one of the two remaining guards.
Leil had not moved, but stood looking dazed. Faquire, however, had leapt forward unasked to assist Christopher in delaying the other two guards from reaching Jaeger. He had struck the first guard in the stomach, but, not being full grown or especially muscular, he had done little real damage. The guard had responded by striking a blow to Faquire on the side of the head, using the butt of his gun, and Faquire fell.
Christopher was assistant to Creole and strong in his own right, and, though not yet quite as tall as the oldest boys, he was nearly full stature and had, therefore, more weight behind his own blows than did Faquire. He held his own very well for the moment or two that it took for Jaeger to reach him.
The guards were well equipped with guns, but they had been sternly warned from the time that the boys had first arrived that none were to be killed; the guns were only for show and intimidation. Now, though they could not be used for their designed purpose, they made rather handy clubs. The guard who had used his to strike Faquire found it a most satisfactory weapon. Satisfactory, that is, until he tried to use it so on Jaeger. Jaeger came toward him and the guard swung his gun at Jaeger's head. Jaeger, rather than attempting to duck or to move out of the way, lifted his hands and actually caught the gun mid-swing. The guard was startled at the obvious strength in this young man as Jaeger slowly turned the gun, twisting it from the guard's hands. Jaeger then raised the weapon himself and laid the guard such a blow than he was rendered unconscious before the astonishment had even left his face.
The fourth guard was as easily dispatched, and the few bruises that Christopher had sustained were quickly judged not dangerous. Eriane had rushed forward to see to Faquire who was now sitting up and shaking his head, looking a bit dazed though still defiant. Jaeger turned back to the medical table and called to Eriane.
"Get those needles out of him," said Jaeger, walking purposefully up to the table and beginning to undo the restraints holding Jade. "After that, give those four something that'll keep them out for a while, if there's anything here that'll work for the purpose."
Eriane moved quickly to obey. The other boys looked around at one another, none seeming to know what to do or say.
"Jaeger, what have you done?" asked Jade.
"I've shown Kandryl that he can treat us only so badly before we will revolt," said Jaeger. "As for myself, I intend to leave this place today or to die trying. I'll not stay another night in this den of horror." He finished unbinding Jade and turned back to the other boys, leaving Eriane in charge of tending to Jade's foot. He bent and lifted the guns of the two guards that he had first attacked and also the one that he had wrested from the third.
"We have arms now," he said. "Anyone who wishes may join me, though I assure you that our dying is much more likely than our escaping."
Christopher immediately stooped and picked up the fourth gun. "I'll follow you," he said.
"So will I," said Faquire, stepping forward and taking one of the guns from Jaeger. "If I'm going to die, then I intend to take a good many of these Vukasovian dogs with me."
"We're not cold-blooded killers," said Jaeger. "I don't mind killing in self-defense, but this isn't about revenge."
"It isn't for you," muttered Faquire.
"Faquire," admonished Wysire. "You need to keep your self-control. Surely you don't believe that you can simply go out there and kill every Vukasovian that you see without compunction."
"You haven't been their prisoner," retorted Faquire. "Yes, I do believe that I can."
The other boys looked at Faquire in surprise. Wysire, however, maintained a calm expression.
"Then kill these four now," he said, pointing to the four guards lying unconscious on the floor. "If you just want to see every Vukasovian dead, then start with these helpless four in front of you."
Faquire looked at him defiantly then turned and pointed his gun down at the nearest guard. Jaeger reached forward quickly and snatched the gun from Faquire's hands.
"Faquire!" Jaeger remonstrated. "What's wrong with you?"
Faquire still looked recalcitrant, but he said nothing.
"Jaeger, if you mean to attempt escape, I'll come with you," said Jade. "We'll never have another chance after today. If we move now, why can't we attempt to carry out our original plans?"
"Can we get a ship?" asked Detrin.
"We can try to take ours," replied Jaeger. "I know that the chances of success are practically nonexistent, but I'll take them."
"But Creole!" exclaimed Christopher. "We can't leave him! And we don't know where he is."
"I do," said Wysire softly. "I can lead you there, though the chances of freeing him are probably the same as those of retaking our ship."
Eriane had just finished administering some drug to the fallen guards and turned now to Djaisiuk.
"Djaisiuk, may I examine you?" he asked, picking up a scanner off of one of the counters and stepping towards Djaisiuk.
Djaisiuk glanced at him and shook his head silently.
Eriane gasped as he stepped in front of him. "What have they done to you?!" he exclaimed, looking down now at Djaisiuk's right leg which hung in a frightening manner down the far side of the tall chair, out of sight of the other boys.
Eriane had turned on the scanner and now lowered himself onto one knee bringing the scanner close to Djaisiuk's leg. Djaisiuk, however, carefully leaned forward, wincing as his left arm slipped forward, and extended his right hand and placed it over the scanner. Eriane stopped and looked up at him.
Slowly, Djaisiuk shook his head.
"Djaisiuk, please let me see if there is anything that I can do," pleaded Eriane.
Djaisiuk did not reply. Eriane looked at him for a long moment, then powered down the scanner. Slowly he rose to his feet.
"We can't escape," he said, turning to the others. "Or if we do, Djaisiuk can't come. Even though he won't let me examine him, I can tell you judging by sight alone that he's not going to be able even to stand, let alone walk or run, for a very long time. Even if I had all of the necessary equipment here to treat him, it'd take several hours before he could be moved without great pain."
"What have they done to him?" asked Leil quietly.
Eriane shook his head and shuddered slightly. "I don't even want to imagine," he murmured.
Just at that moment, the door at the front of the room opened. The boys froze and looked towards the door. The medic from earlier had returned. He stopped short on seeing the strange state of things -- the four guards lying unconscious or dead on the floor and their guns in the hands of the Komislavian boys -- then turned quickly and rushed out of the room again, closing the door behind him. Jaeger leapt forward and rushed to the front of the room.
"Jade; Leil," he called as he went, "check those other two doors."
Jade and Leil did as they were bid, but all of the doors in the room were sealed.
"We can't get out," exclaimed Jade.
"We're trapped!" cried Faquire. "And he'll go now and tell Kandryl or summon more guards. It's too late! We've waited for too long. Now there's nothing that we can do."
"We may not be trapped," said Jaeger quietly.
The other boys looked at him puzzled, but Jaeger did not explain. He turned and walked over to stand in front of Djaisiuk. The latter still did not raise his eyes.
"Djaisiuk, we need you," he said. "I know that you must be in a lot of pain right now. I understand that you can't walk, but you could be carried. I know that this would be excruciating for you, but would you not be willing to attempt it? You're the only one who could get us out of here now. Please tell me, will you help us?"
Very slowly, Djaisiuk raised his head and looked Jaeger in the eye. His face wore a pained expression, and Jaeger was suddenly aware of what seemed an incredible amount of stress in Djaisiuk's face. Still moving slowly, Djaisiuk shook his head slightly.
"Wait," he said in very hoarse and trembling voice.
The boys looked at him silently for a moment, then looked around at each other with confused glances.
"Wait for what?" asked Wysire at last.
No sooner had the words left his mouth then the door at the front of the room opened again. An officer of high rank entered the room and surveyed the boys. Behind him in the hall they could see a large group of soldiers. The officer's eyebrows rose slightly as he noticed the fallen guards.
"I should very much like to know what has happened here," he said calmly, still looking over the scene before him, "but that is not my current business. I am here to see that the twelve Komislavian students are taken safely to their quarters to gather what belongings they may have in preparation for returning to their home planet."
"Returning home?" stammered Cycil. "We're going home?"
"A Komislavian ship has been sent to fetch you," stated the officer, looking now at Cycil. "Both it and its crew await now in the docks for all of you. As I said, I am here to escort you safely to them."
The boys stared at him open-mouthed for a moment, then Eriane cried out.
"Djaisiuk!" he exclaimed, rushing forward.
Djaisiuk had lost consciousness.
Kandryl had sent for them: all of them. They were brought together in a small room in the medical section to wait for orders. None knew what was going to happen. There was quiet conversation and speculation as they waited.
Very soon a medic entered the room and told them that Kandryl was ready. The boys were then led together into a medical room. Eriane gasped and drew back as he recognized the room. He had never been inside of it, but he knew it well enough by sight. In the center was a medical bed, and at the foot of this bed was a squarish device. The boys had entered from the back of the room and stood now facing the bed, nearest the foot.
"No, no," said Eriane softly, trying to back away.
"Djaisiuk!" cried Sandy in surprise and joy.
The other boys looked up and saw Djaisiuk sitting on a tall stool at the left hand side of the medical bed, facing the bed. His eyes were lowered and his shoulders drooped. He did not look up as they entered, and it seemed to them that his usually emotionless face was very pale and was laced with a touch of sadness or hopelessness, though it was difficult to tell which. His left side was facing them, and Eriane's trained eye immediately detected something definitely wrong in both the way that Djaisiuk's left arm hung limply at his side and in the lack of color in his face; Djaisiuk's breathing too, and the whole way in which he sat indicated that something more was wrong than immediately met the eye. Wysire too looked quite concerned upon seeing Djaisiuk's strange expression. Eriane stepped forward cautiously.
"Djaisiuk?" he began. "What--"
Before he could finish, two doors, one at the front of the room, in front of the boys, and one near the back of the room, to the left of the boys, opened at almost the same time. Through the front door, the one facing the boys, Kandryl entered. Through the rear door, four guards entered, leading Christopher and Faquire.
The boys were startled but overjoyed at seeing one another, and, to their surprise, the guards made no attempt to restrain the two prisoners from interacting with the other boys. Exclamations of joy and inquiries about health and well-being were quickly exchanged. The guards retreated to the very back of the room, and left the boys standing in a group, a few feet from the foot of the medical bed which sat in the middle of the room.
Kandryl gave the boys a minute or two to converse before interrupting them. He stepped forward to stand on the opposite side of the bed from Djaisiuk in front of what Eriane knew to be the controls for the horrible little device and looked at the group of boys before him.
"Doubtless you are wondering why you are here," said Kandryl. The boys grew silent immediately and looked up at him. "You are here to help me, if you will, and to suffer the consequences, if you will not."
Kandryl's voice was slightly lower than the free boys were accustomed to hearing. Danger seemed to hang in the air, and they all felt it. They waited quietly and expectantly for they knew not what.
"Your friend Djaisiuk," continued Kandryl, turning to look at Djaisiuk as he spoke, "has disobeyed orders. He has broken into an area in which he had no business, and there, it is believed, he has performed some sabotage. He now refuses to tell us what he has done."
The boys looked at Djaisiuk, and Kandryl could see that their astonishment was unfeigned (although he was very displeased to see admiration as well in several of their faces). Faquire alone did not look surprised, for he had already known this. The others, however, obviously did not know what to think. Djaisiuk had been working for the Vukasovians willingly, they had thought. They would never have expected any action of the kind that Kandryl now described from him.
Realization seemed to dawn on both Eriane and Wysire as they looked at Djaisiuk, though in different ways for each.
"What have you done to him?!" demanded Eriane angrily.
Most of the other boys looked at Eriane in surprise, but Kandryl merely ignored him.
"This is where I need your assistance," continued Kandryl. "You will convince him to tell me what I wish to know. This you will do of your own accord or by other chosen means. Which do you prefer?"
Kandryl paused and looked at each of them in turn. The boys looked from Kandryl to Djaisiuk for a moment. Eriane looked furious, and Wysire began to look far more concerned than he had earlier.
"No one questions Djaisiuk," said Jaeger at last. "If he doesn't want to tell you something, then there's nothing that we can do or say to change his mind."
"And we wouldn't want to either," said Faquire sharply. "If he's done something against you, then I say, 'good for him!' I'll not help you to get information out of him."
"Oh, you will help me," purred Kandryl. "Have no doubt on that score. I only asked whether you would help willingly or unwillingly."
Kandryl raised a hand and motioned to two of the guards. He then pointed to Jaeger, and the guards took hold of him to lead him forward.
"Your friend Eriane has, no doubt, told you about this place," Kandryl continued as the guards led Jaeger to the medical bed.
"Stop!" interrupted Eriane, seeing now what Kandryl meant to do. "Please! He'd help you if he could, but he's right. None of us could convince Djaisiuk to tell you something that he doesn't want to tell you, no matter what we said. Jaeger's not being rebellious; he's only being honest."
"What do you intend to do to me?" Jaeger asked Kandryl. His voice was almost angry now and not a bit fearful.
"I have told you already," said Kandryl. "You will help me, indeed all of you will help me, to learn what I wish to know. This machine, with which you may not be familiar, is very well known to Djaisiuk. He will know the pain that you feel, and he will have the option to end your pain at any time that he chooses. If he will but tell me what I want to know, then all of you will be able to go back to your work. If not, than you will each feel what this device is capable of inflicting, starting with the oldest," Kandryl, looking at Jaeger through this speech, now turned slowly to look over the other boys, his eyes coming to rest at last on Sandy, "and ending with the youngest."
Jaeger struggled suddenly, but the guards, ready for this, held him fast.
"Let them go!" said Jaeger sharply to Kandryl. "You've no right to be frightening the little ones like this. They've served you willingly; let them go! Keep me here, if you must, and do what you like to me, but I won't let you do this to the younger ones."
Kandryl smiled menacingly at him. "Then convince your friend to tell me what I wish to know, and you will all go free."
Jaeger turned to look at Djaisiuk silently for a moment, but Djaisiuk did not move. For a moment they remained thus, then Kandryl motioned to the guards to proceed. Jaeger no longer struggled as the guards forced him onto the table and strapped him to it. The medic who had led the free boys into the room prepared Jaeger's foot for the device. Jaeger continued to watch Djaisiuk silently through all of this, but Djaisiuk did not look up. He sat now less than two feet from Jaeger's left hand, but he seemed perfectly oblivious to anything and everything else in the room.
One of the guards returned to his place at the back of the room, but the other walked over to the group of boys again. This one took Eriane by the arm and led him to stand before the controls of the device. Eriane pulled back with a cry.
"No!" he exclaimed. "No, you can't expect me to do this! I won't!"
Kandryl stepped forward again to stand at Jaeger's right hand, positioning himself between Eriane and the medical bed.
"You may also talk to your friend Djaisiuk," said Kandryl. "If he relents, then you will be forced to do nothing."
Eriane looked across the bed at Djaisiuk, then looked up again at Kandryl. "I . . . I can't," he said softly. "Even if I wanted to do so, I couldn't."
"Try," said Kandryl.
"No," said Eriane, swallowing.
"Then begin," said Kandryl roughly.
Eriane shook his head half-fearfully. "I won't," he said.
Without a word, Kandryl picked up a small hand-held device from a table and turned and pressed the tip to Jaeger's neck. Jaeger gave a short cry as a strong electric shock was administered. Kandryl turned immediately back to Eriane.
"This," he said, holding up the device, "need not be employed. That," he pointed to the device encasing Jaeger's right foot, "will be. If you refuse to operate it, they will both be employed; if you obey, he need not suffer this one again."
Eriane looked from Kandryl to Jaeger to Djaisiuk and back, tears starting to form in his eyes. "Please don't make me do this," he whispered.
Kandryl turned again and lifted his hand to Jaeger's neck.
"Eriane, just do it!" cried Jaeger, before Kandryl could touch him again.
Kandryl stopped and smiled. He turned to look at Eriane and raised an eyebrow expectantly. Eriane, biting back tears of anger and shame, turned to the controls with trembling hands and began the procedure.
Jaeger was strong; he had been raised a hunter, living in the wild, as much as there was on Komislava. When he had first joined the IC School at age twelve, he had prided himself on his muscular, athletic form and had done all that he could to maintain it throughout his training. Now, after seven years of study and a life spent mostly indoors or on a ship, he was still as strong and wiry, although much more grown, than he had been at twelve when he had first joined. Indeed, on his visits home to his father's house, he had always impressed his younger half-brothers and sisters with his strength and bearing, so unlike any of the other students that they had known. Creole had been strong as well, not so much by choice as by necessity, because of his occupation on the ship. Jaeger, however, by far surpassed Creole. Because of this, he found himself better able to bear the torture to which he was now subjected than even Creole had done. He took the first several needles with scarcely so much as a flinch.
Eriane had, at first, been unable to watch. He had stood with his head down and eyes closed, hating himself for having helped to create this horrible device, and even more for now being the one forced to cause the pain being inflicted. He could hear the needles shooting out and penetrating, but there were no corresponding gasps or cries from Jaeger. At last Eriane did look up and saw that Jaeger lay still, face set, eyes closed, and muscles taunt, refusing to show any signs of pain. Eriane watched in awe.
The other boys (excepting Faquire) had heard of the device through Eriane, but had never expected to see it. Faquire alone among them had experienced it and could truly sympathize with what Jaeger was feeling. Jade understood Jaeger better than did the other boys, and he alone was not surprised at how well Jaeger controlled himself through it all. Even Kandryl was surprised at Jaeger's strength. He was, however, careful to conceal this surprise.
"You care nothing for your friend's pain?" asked Kandryl, stepping over to stand beside Djaisiuk. "You don't even look at him. Perhaps you care only for yourself?"
Djaisiuk had not looked up since the boys had entered, and even now he did not move. Apart from his slow, painful breathing (which was a little more audible than normal), he might have been carved from stone. His expression had not changed. When Kandryl thus drew attention to him, several of the other boys turned to look at him, questioning with their eyes, though not with their lips, why he would not speak, and whether it was possible that anything could be so important a secret as to allow this to continue rather than to tell it. Wysire alone turned away, unable to watch either Jaeger or Djaisiuk, understanding fully Kandryl's intentions and fearing for the result that they might produce on Djaisiuk as much as on any of the others. He wondered what emotional damage might already have been done. Djaisiuk had been able to heal Faquire when he had been hurt, but who would be able to heal Djaisiuk if he needed healing?
Soon enough, the procedure had finished. Jaeger had not uttered a cry, though his face had paled slightly. He let out a breath then, and, for the next minute or two, he breathed a little deeper than was normal for him. He did not yet open his eyes. Eriane caused the needles to be withdrawn and leapt forward to tend to Jaeger's foot. The medic had already come forward, both to ready the device for its next use and to tend to Jaeger, but Eriane firmly intervened with the latter task.
"No," he said sternly. "If you will force me to inflict the injury, then you will at least allow me to treat it!"
Kandryl smiled, amused, as if at a child's eccentricity, and motioned the medic to stand aside. Eriane saw the look and hated him for it. He said nothing, however, but quickly cleaned and sealed Jaeger's foot while two of the guards unfastened the restraints. Jaeger was then allowed to replace his shoe and walk back to the other boys. This he did without a wince or a limp; he held his head high, still refusing to show any pain.
Without a word, the guards then took hold of Jade and led him forward.
"I'm afraid you'll put me to shame, Jaeger," said Jade, smiling nervously as he was strapped to the table. "I know that I'm not quite as strong as you are."
Jade was already a little pale as the medic carefully positioned his foot in the device. Eriane stepped back to his assigned position, but could not take his eyes from Jade. When the medic finished and stepped away, Eriane still hesitated. It was not until Kandryl stepped forward towards the table that Eriane pulled his eyes away and began the procedure anew.
Jade uttered a cry of pain with the first needle. He tried hard to stifle the second cry, but only partially succeeded. Jaeger, heedless of Kandryl's frown, stepped quickly forward to stand at Jade's left hand, between Djaisiuk and the bed. He took Jade's left hand in his own left and placed his right hand on Jade's shoulder. Jade looked up at him gratefully, but closed his eyes again suddenly as the next needle entered him.
"Djaisiuk," said Jaeger quietly, not looking at him, "I know that we're not to question you, but please assure me that this is truly necessary. Please tell me now, before this goes any farther."
Djaisiuk still did not move or speak, and Jaeger did not turn to look at him. He continued to stand, still holding Jade's hand, his face growing darker. Jade, unused to pain and not as strong of will or body as his friend, continued to gasp or to cry out with each new puncture.
"Send them away, please!" Jade begged between needles. "Kandryl, please send the others away! They don't need to see this!"
"No, but it is good for them to see it," said Kandryl. "Remember that should your friend not be moved by your own cries, it may be that he shall be moved by theirs. Let them see what fate awaits them if he should not relent."
Jaeger's head snapped up suddenly, and he glared at Kandryl.
"Stop that thing, Eriane," he ordered. "Turn it off now!"
Eriane hesitated only a moment, looking to see Kandryl's reaction, then swiftly stopped the machine. Kandryl did not look at Eriane, but stepped forward, looking only at Jaeger, towards the left side of the bed where Jaeger stood.
"Let them go," said Jaeger quietly but firmly. "They have served you without question or argument; they've done everything that you've ever asked of them, and this is how you repay them?"
Kandryl motioned towards Djaisiuk, his expression calm. "If they care to exercise what influence they may have--" he began, but Jaeger did not let him finish.
"Djaisiuk will do as he pleases!" exclaimed Jaeger angrily. "If he has chosen to conceal something from you, then nothing that we say or do and nothing that you may choose to do to us will change his mind! You had nine willing workers and one who disobeyed. If you go on with this, you'll still be in the same place as far as Djaisiuk goes, but you'll no longer have the nine workers that you once did. Continue this -- this torture, and you'll lose at least one and maybe more of your nine workers just as surely, for I swear that I'll never serve you again if you continue this atrocity. And if you attempt to subject any of the younger ones to this device of horror, I'll kill you with my own hands!"
Through all of this speech, Kandryl's calm expression did not falter. He stood now immediately in front of Jaeger, quite close to Jade. Kandryl looked Jaeger in the eye as if daring him to attempt something. Finally he turned to Eriane and ordered him to continue. Eriane looked from Kandryl to Jaeger, unsure of what to do.
Kandryl lifted his right hand towards Jade's neck, holding out the electrical device. Jaeger's left hand leapt forward and caught Kandryl's hand by the wrist, holding it a few inches above Jade. Two of the guards started to step forward but stopped, unsure of what to do for Kandryl did not look at them. Kandryl and Jaeger looked one another in the eye, a real battle of wills silently being fought between them. Both were strong, and neither was willing to back down. At last, Kandryl reached across with his left hand, took the device out of his imprisoned right hand, and pressed it suddenly to Jaeger's wrist. Jaeger, not having expected this, let go immediately with a short cry and grasped his left wrist in his right hand. Without a pause, Kandryl passed the device back into his right hand and pressed it to Jade's neck. Jade then cried out as well as the pain of the shock entered his neck and spread quickly through the left side of his face and his left shoulder.
It seemed to those standing there that something snapped in Jaeger then. He pulled his right hand back in a fist and swung hard. He hit Kandryl squarely in the left side of the jaw, just as Kandryl was turning back to look at him. Kandryl was thrown sideways from the force of the blow and fell over Jade. The two guards hesitated no longer but jumped forward immediately and grabbed hold of Jaeger. Jaeger did not struggle, but watched silently as Kandryl lifted himself from the bed and put a hand to his mouth. It came away with blood on it. He looked up at Jaeger darkly.
"You shouldn't have done that," said Kandryl coldly. His voice was altered somewhat as if it was almost difficult to shape words, and, as he spoke, Jaeger, who was still very near to him, could see that two of his teeth on the top left of his jaw had been knocked out.
The medic had come quickly up to Kandryl, holding a scanner which he lifted to Kandryl's face for a moment.
"There's some damage," he said quietly. "May I suggest, sir, that you come away to have it treated?"
Kandryl had not looked away from Jaeger. "I could have you killed for this," he said quietly.
Jaeger did not answer. He continued to look at Kandryl threateningly. He suddenly realized that Djaisiuk, sitting there at his right elbow, had raised his head and had been watching. As soon as Jaeger turned to look at him, however, Djaisiuk again lowered his gaze to stare at the floor. None could have guessed how fervently Djaisiuk was praying just then. Jaeger turned and looked at Kandryl again.
"Lock him in a cell," said Kandryl to the guards. "I'll deal with him later."
All eyes in the room were on Jaeger and Kandryl, so none noticed as Djaisiuk closed his eyes and gave a silent sigh, as if in relief. He reopened his eyes almost immediately and did not move otherwise.
Kandryl then turned and walked out of the room, followed by the medic. The two guards began to lead Jaeger towards the door at the back of the room, but as soon as the door at the front of the room closed behind Kandryl, Jaeger suddenly sprang to life. He lifted his good left foot and kicked one of the guards hard in the knee. That guard loosened his grip and bent forward a little in pain. Jaeger ripped his left arm free and turned to land another strong punch square in the face of the second guard. The two remaining guards at the back of the room sprang forward.
"Leil! Christopher!" shouted Jaeger. "Take them!'
"Jaeger, what are you doing?" cried Detrin, but Jaeger was past hearing. His blood was hot now, and he was not about to submit. He had turned to administer another blow to the other guard and soon laid them both flat on the floor. He then jumped forward to help Christopher who had attacked one of the two remaining guards.
Leil had not moved, but stood looking dazed. Faquire, however, had leapt forward unasked to assist Christopher in delaying the other two guards from reaching Jaeger. He had struck the first guard in the stomach, but, not being full grown or especially muscular, he had done little real damage. The guard had responded by striking a blow to Faquire on the side of the head, using the butt of his gun, and Faquire fell.
Christopher was assistant to Creole and strong in his own right, and, though not yet quite as tall as the oldest boys, he was nearly full stature and had, therefore, more weight behind his own blows than did Faquire. He held his own very well for the moment or two that it took for Jaeger to reach him.
The guards were well equipped with guns, but they had been sternly warned from the time that the boys had first arrived that none were to be killed; the guns were only for show and intimidation. Now, though they could not be used for their designed purpose, they made rather handy clubs. The guard who had used his to strike Faquire found it a most satisfactory weapon. Satisfactory, that is, until he tried to use it so on Jaeger. Jaeger came toward him and the guard swung his gun at Jaeger's head. Jaeger, rather than attempting to duck or to move out of the way, lifted his hands and actually caught the gun mid-swing. The guard was startled at the obvious strength in this young man as Jaeger slowly turned the gun, twisting it from the guard's hands. Jaeger then raised the weapon himself and laid the guard such a blow than he was rendered unconscious before the astonishment had even left his face.
The fourth guard was as easily dispatched, and the few bruises that Christopher had sustained were quickly judged not dangerous. Eriane had rushed forward to see to Faquire who was now sitting up and shaking his head, looking a bit dazed though still defiant. Jaeger turned back to the medical table and called to Eriane.
"Get those needles out of him," said Jaeger, walking purposefully up to the table and beginning to undo the restraints holding Jade. "After that, give those four something that'll keep them out for a while, if there's anything here that'll work for the purpose."
Eriane moved quickly to obey. The other boys looked around at one another, none seeming to know what to do or say.
"Jaeger, what have you done?" asked Jade.
"I've shown Kandryl that he can treat us only so badly before we will revolt," said Jaeger. "As for myself, I intend to leave this place today or to die trying. I'll not stay another night in this den of horror." He finished unbinding Jade and turned back to the other boys, leaving Eriane in charge of tending to Jade's foot. He bent and lifted the guns of the two guards that he had first attacked and also the one that he had wrested from the third.
"We have arms now," he said. "Anyone who wishes may join me, though I assure you that our dying is much more likely than our escaping."
Christopher immediately stooped and picked up the fourth gun. "I'll follow you," he said.
"So will I," said Faquire, stepping forward and taking one of the guns from Jaeger. "If I'm going to die, then I intend to take a good many of these Vukasovian dogs with me."
"We're not cold-blooded killers," said Jaeger. "I don't mind killing in self-defense, but this isn't about revenge."
"It isn't for you," muttered Faquire.
"Faquire," admonished Wysire. "You need to keep your self-control. Surely you don't believe that you can simply go out there and kill every Vukasovian that you see without compunction."
"You haven't been their prisoner," retorted Faquire. "Yes, I do believe that I can."
The other boys looked at Faquire in surprise. Wysire, however, maintained a calm expression.
"Then kill these four now," he said, pointing to the four guards lying unconscious on the floor. "If you just want to see every Vukasovian dead, then start with these helpless four in front of you."
Faquire looked at him defiantly then turned and pointed his gun down at the nearest guard. Jaeger reached forward quickly and snatched the gun from Faquire's hands.
"Faquire!" Jaeger remonstrated. "What's wrong with you?"
Faquire still looked recalcitrant, but he said nothing.
"Jaeger, if you mean to attempt escape, I'll come with you," said Jade. "We'll never have another chance after today. If we move now, why can't we attempt to carry out our original plans?"
"Can we get a ship?" asked Detrin.
"We can try to take ours," replied Jaeger. "I know that the chances of success are practically nonexistent, but I'll take them."
"But Creole!" exclaimed Christopher. "We can't leave him! And we don't know where he is."
"I do," said Wysire softly. "I can lead you there, though the chances of freeing him are probably the same as those of retaking our ship."
Eriane had just finished administering some drug to the fallen guards and turned now to Djaisiuk.
"Djaisiuk, may I examine you?" he asked, picking up a scanner off of one of the counters and stepping towards Djaisiuk.
Djaisiuk glanced at him and shook his head silently.
Eriane gasped as he stepped in front of him. "What have they done to you?!" he exclaimed, looking down now at Djaisiuk's right leg which hung in a frightening manner down the far side of the tall chair, out of sight of the other boys.
Eriane had turned on the scanner and now lowered himself onto one knee bringing the scanner close to Djaisiuk's leg. Djaisiuk, however, carefully leaned forward, wincing as his left arm slipped forward, and extended his right hand and placed it over the scanner. Eriane stopped and looked up at him.
Slowly, Djaisiuk shook his head.
"Djaisiuk, please let me see if there is anything that I can do," pleaded Eriane.
Djaisiuk did not reply. Eriane looked at him for a long moment, then powered down the scanner. Slowly he rose to his feet.
"We can't escape," he said, turning to the others. "Or if we do, Djaisiuk can't come. Even though he won't let me examine him, I can tell you judging by sight alone that he's not going to be able even to stand, let alone walk or run, for a very long time. Even if I had all of the necessary equipment here to treat him, it'd take several hours before he could be moved without great pain."
"What have they done to him?" asked Leil quietly.
Eriane shook his head and shuddered slightly. "I don't even want to imagine," he murmured.
Just at that moment, the door at the front of the room opened. The boys froze and looked towards the door. The medic from earlier had returned. He stopped short on seeing the strange state of things -- the four guards lying unconscious or dead on the floor and their guns in the hands of the Komislavian boys -- then turned quickly and rushed out of the room again, closing the door behind him. Jaeger leapt forward and rushed to the front of the room.
"Jade; Leil," he called as he went, "check those other two doors."
Jade and Leil did as they were bid, but all of the doors in the room were sealed.
"We can't get out," exclaimed Jade.
"We're trapped!" cried Faquire. "And he'll go now and tell Kandryl or summon more guards. It's too late! We've waited for too long. Now there's nothing that we can do."
"We may not be trapped," said Jaeger quietly.
The other boys looked at him puzzled, but Jaeger did not explain. He turned and walked over to stand in front of Djaisiuk. The latter still did not raise his eyes.
"Djaisiuk, we need you," he said. "I know that you must be in a lot of pain right now. I understand that you can't walk, but you could be carried. I know that this would be excruciating for you, but would you not be willing to attempt it? You're the only one who could get us out of here now. Please tell me, will you help us?"
Very slowly, Djaisiuk raised his head and looked Jaeger in the eye. His face wore a pained expression, and Jaeger was suddenly aware of what seemed an incredible amount of stress in Djaisiuk's face. Still moving slowly, Djaisiuk shook his head slightly.
"Wait," he said in very hoarse and trembling voice.
The boys looked at him silently for a moment, then looked around at each other with confused glances.
"Wait for what?" asked Wysire at last.
No sooner had the words left his mouth then the door at the front of the room opened again. An officer of high rank entered the room and surveyed the boys. Behind him in the hall they could see a large group of soldiers. The officer's eyebrows rose slightly as he noticed the fallen guards.
"I should very much like to know what has happened here," he said calmly, still looking over the scene before him, "but that is not my current business. I am here to see that the twelve Komislavian students are taken safely to their quarters to gather what belongings they may have in preparation for returning to their home planet."
"Returning home?" stammered Cycil. "We're going home?"
"A Komislavian ship has been sent to fetch you," stated the officer, looking now at Cycil. "Both it and its crew await now in the docks for all of you. As I said, I am here to escort you safely to them."
The boys stared at him open-mouthed for a moment, then Eriane cried out.
"Djaisiuk!" he exclaimed, rushing forward.
Djaisiuk had lost consciousness.
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